I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

Chapter 66

66. Following Hope

“It seems like a lot of time has passed. “More than 10 years must have passed since I first met you.”

Arsel said while sitting on the lawn.

It was nice to look up at the blue sky without thinking, and the wind blowing from the white space on the other side cooled the body heat and provided a feeling of coolness.

Is there a better place than this to sit quietly and reminisce about the past?

“Of course, for an elf, 10 years is just a moment, but for me, it was like a precious memory that cannot be replaced by anything.”

“…”

Stella quietly listened to Arcel.

Of course, there is a reason why there was nothing worth talking about right now.

However, it is the role of the hero who leads the story, and he also plays the role of appreciating the story from the side.

“Right now, I just want to ask you one thing. Is that okay?”

Before starting the story, carefully ask Stella what she wants.

“What is that?”

You had to listen first to find out what kind of story this was.

“Why didn’t you tell me the story about your hometown? If you had told me, I would have gone to help. Not just me, but all my colleagues.”

What Arcel is talking about is Stella’s hometown.

In the past, after Stella defeated the Demon King, she had to go straight back to her hometown without any time to rest.

As a result, Stella was able to avoid what happened to her other colleagues, but Arcel still couldn’t help but feel concerned.

“…Maybe we were not trustworthy?”

I thought maybe that was the case.

In order to defeat the Demon King, he devoted half his life to honing his sword and wanted to become a warrior. The Kingdom of Hermod offered him skilled knights and wizards, and even a saint in the church as his companions.

I spent time with them and trained so much, but in the end, I fell helplessly in front of the Demon King and barely achieved a miraculous victory.

I may not have been trustworthy enough to entrust my hometown to such a miracle.

Arsel seems to have thought so.

“What do you mean?!”

At that time, Stella suddenly screamed.

“Even if you ask me what I’m talking about…”

“Do you really think I didn’t tell you because I didn’t trust you? “Have you ever thought like that?”

This is probably because I had the illusion that I did not even become Arcel.

“At that time, you had already reached your limit. You went to the Demon King’s Castle for several days without resting or eating, saying that the only way was to defeat the Demon King. “And everyone was seriously injured there!”

Stella was also seriously injured.

The bones of her entire body were crushed and she could not even breathe properly.

However, Stella’s injuries were treatable injuries, while the other companions’ injuries were not easy to treat, even for saints, due to the devil’s magic or curses.

Of course, it was necessary to spend time on treatment and recuperation.

“But given your personality, if you had told me, you would definitely have followed me to my hometown, even if I said I didn’t want to. But how could I make it even harder…”

He has already accomplished a feat that is impossible to achieve with a human body.

The previous hero barely survived alone thanks to the sacrifices of all his comrades, but Arcel decapitated the Demon King without sacrificing anyone else.

I take upon myself the burden that others should bear.

I lifted the sword silently without the slightest sound of pain.

No matter how tainted and hurt it was, that was Arcel’s path.

“You really had that in mind until now? “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t trust you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“I knew you idiot, you’ve spent your whole life holding a sword and only looking at the devil, but you’re even more stupid than I imagined.”

While talking, Stella even cried a little.

I had no idea that when I said something so seriously, it was just such a ridiculous misunderstanding.

“Anyway, I am always grateful to you. “Even though you hate demons, you were helping them evacuate there.”

“…Well, I just did what I had to do.”

Arsel told what happened at Clen’s territory.

Starred by the sound of a sudden explosion, she woke up to find that a large fire had broken out in the estate. Stella was confused there too, but first helped the citizens evacuate, especially the children.

Even though Clen was very angry at the time, the reason she was given a relatively long grace period was because the damage was not as severe as she expected thanks to Stella.

In some cases, an elf’s eyes can predict the near future, and by using this, they were able to safely evacuate citizens even in a fire.

“This is what you wanted in the first place.”

“That’s right, I didn’t think it was right to be unconditionally hostile to them just because they were demons.”

An ideal world where everyone can be happy and peaceful.

Even if it seems like a child’s empty dream, you can only change the world if you are persistent in achieving that ideal.

“If I defeat the devil, it is not because he is a devil or a devil.”

Arcel said as she took out her holy sword.

“He wanted to use his power to oppress the world and even eliminate innocent people. I cannot bear to watch that atrocity.”

A girl who lived in a peaceful countryside.

What the girl saw after leaving her hometown was a reality too cruel to put into words.

Most people in the city died of starvation after losing their jobs due to the soaring prices caused by the war, and refugees who had nowhere to go but the castle begged for mercy to let them in.

However, there was a limit to the number of people that any city could accommodate, and in the end, they lived in temporary shelters on the outskirts, but of course, the conditions were not good.

Looting and murder due to hunger have become a daily routine.

A mother who can’t even produce milk for her newborn, and a father who feels helpless and raises a weapon.

Taking others’ lives for one’s own.

How long are we going to leave this unattended?

Arcel thought that the reason he became a warrior was because he was chosen to break this vicious cycle.

“Of course, it didn’t go as planned, but even though the demon king was defeated, the world didn’t change much. He worked hard with his colleagues and friends to defeat the Demon King…”

“You know best that it wasn’t in vain.”

Still, the effort would not have been in vain.

There were certainly places where life improved after defeating the devil.

In particular, with the disappearance of the Demon King, Clen was able to spend more money on the territory and even take care of orphans, and farmers who regained the fields taken away by the Demon King’s army will once again pioneer a new life from the wasteland.

“That’s right. “Maybe I was too greedy.”

Arsel said with a chuckle.

And then he points the holy sword towards the sky and closes his eyes.

“But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up here. I haven’t let go of this holy sword yet. “One day, no matter how long it takes, I will definitely make this world a better place.”

“I hope the warrior who will change the world will also care about us elves.”

“It’s a given.”

Stella smiled brightly, letting go of her depressed mind.

It’s because memories of the past came to mind after a long time.

Even then, she and her colleagues gathered under a bonfire and sang about each other’s dreams and hopes.

Arsel wanted to make the world a better place than it is now, and Stella wanted the elves to move toward the future and not be too caught up in the past.

And those dreams and hopes are achieved with her own hands.

If you don’t give up, there will still be a chance.

“…Why is my grandchild so quiet?”

“What?”

Shion sneakily approached Alfred who was watching the scene and asked.

“Wasn’t it our grandchild’s role to bring hope to that baby? “But now I’m a little surprised that I’m just watching quietly like this.”

“It’s not like I had to do it, I just did it to see what I wanted to see. “I hope that the ending of this story that I have enjoyed watching for a long time will be happy.”

Alfred leaned against a tree and spoke as usual.

“For that matter, you seem to care quite a bit.”

However, it seems that even Alfred cannot hide the strange jealousy mixed in his attitude.

“Well, for me, if the story has a happy ending, that’s enough. “A warrior who has held a sword since he was young worked hard to defeat the Demon King, so it is only right to expect that he will receive a reward.”

“My grandchild is still a baby, so I’m hoping for an ending like something out of an old fairy tale.”

Shion shook his head, saying there was nothing he could do.

After lying down with my head on Alfred’s legs, I quietly look at Arcel and Stella for a moment.

There was a hint of bitterness on his face.

“But as your mother said, and like my daughter did, the world cannot always be happy. And since happiness is absolute, in order to achieve happiness, you must take happiness from others and leave only unhappiness behind.”

Taaak!

“Ahh! “What are you doing all of a sudden?”

Shion frowns while holding her forehead.

It was because Alfred hit her on the forehead.

“It’s a good mood, but don’t say anything rude. For now, just let us look forward to the silver lining. “I know her grandmother knows a lot, but they don’t know?”

“Then what can I do? That is reality.”

Shion turned her head slightly as if she was slightly upset.

I only see a white world with nothing left in my sight.

This is what she has seen for a long time, and what she will continue to see in the future is the scene before her eyes.

“Because changing that reality is what being a hero does. Everyone knows that something is wrong, but they are ignoring it. A hero is someone who courageously steps forward and solves the problem.”

“If anyone hears it, they will think that anyone can become a hero.”

“Of course, anyone can become a hero. However, there are differences depending on the person. “It’s strange that you have to be chosen to become a warrior and to hold the holy sword.”

Alfred said, frowning his eyes.

The chosen warrior.

A holy sword that only the chosen can use.

Those two things are like giving people hope to defeat the devil.

He is a demon king with overwhelming power, but if there is a warrior with a holy sword, he can do anything.

That was the light of hope that humans have been chasing until now.

“Who on earth makes that choice?”

“If there is someone who makes choices, it must be something humans call God.”

“If there is a God, why would he do such a thing?”

“Isn’t that a law that cannot be known unless you are God?”

“You’re right, and I don’t think there’s any way God would make that choice if he existed in this world.”

But that also means ‘limiting’ hope.

“If God were truly omnipotent and fair to all, he would never make choices so that everyone could move forward on their own.”

Only a hero can defeat the devil.

The only sword that can cut down the devil is the holy sword.

Until now, humans have risked everything for their race, relying only on the hope of becoming a hero.

“That’s why I couldn’t do something like the devil even after thousands of years. In short, my thoughts were completely blocked. On the other hand, I can say that his stubbornness and tenacity are amazing.”

Maybe there was a better way, but all I expected was for the hero to defeat the Demon King.

Of course, I don’t know if that would be the most efficient choice…

“Is what we’ve done so far the best? Anyway, even if you defeat a demon lord or a hero, it will refill quickly. In that case, it would be better to leave only ashes like my mother. “The best mercy would be to end it with my own hands instead of suffering needlessly.”

Alfred said.

“It feels like I was shown the wrong path from the beginning.”

The hero and the devil.

The existence of those two fates is strange.

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“You sound exactly like your mother.”

“What can I do? After all, I am also my mother’s child.”

“It seems so. “Is this why blood can’t be deceived?”

Shion looked at Stella, who was smiling with cloudy eyes.

“Please, I hope you don’t get carried away by the light of hope.”

He seems to be reminded of the mistakes he made in the past.

Unfortunately, it was time to inform his descendants of his mistake.