I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

92. Return of the Hero

“…Wouldn’t you rather refrain from saying that you should change clothes in a way that could be misunderstood, and anyway, I don’t have any armor to wear right now. “It doesn’t matter if it just goes on like this.”

Arsel frowned and sighed deeply at Alfred’s words.

He suddenly appeared out of nowhere and told me to take off all my underwear, but it turned out that he meant to arm myself.

“And even if you suddenly tell me to arm myself… Honestly, don’t you know best that it won’t be of much help?”

“That’s right, not being able to use magical power is just as fatal.”

Alfred agreed with that statement, but seemed to be studying the book and preparing something diligently.

“Are you doing this even though you know that?”

“If it doesn’t help, we have to make it work.”

Then, he takes out a quill in his hand.

“Have you forgotten what you found in the grave this time? “The reason we ended up in this smelly land of ogres was all because of one thing.”

One fact flashes through my head.

The reason I came here is to find a book to lift the curse on my body.

However, when I found the book, Alfred was unable to use magic, but that is not the case now.

“Are you really planning to lift the curse now?!”

Arsel, surprised, asked Alfred back.

Removing a curse is good.

But now we are in battle with that monstrous elf.

Right now, it seems like Alfred somehow escaped and came here, but it doesn’t seem like he was completely neutralized, so is it okay to show such a loophole?

Magic, especially magic that directly assimilates the body, requires considerable concentration and delicate control of magic power.

“Yes, I have to do it now.”

If he was disturbed, not only himself but also Alfred would be in danger.

Nevertheless, I thought that lifting the curse now would be too much of a gamble for Arcel.

Alfred could probably handle it on his own even if he didn’t come forward anyway, so why is he trying to lift his curse now and make him come forward?

“For your information, I don’t want to kill that thing, so let’s erase it with your fraudulent weapon.”

“…Oh, that was it.”

From what I heard, that elf seemed to have quite strong regenerative abilities.

Therefore, it is difficult to deal with with ordinary attacks and requires special strength like Arcel’s Holy Sword.

I thought it would be better to call the Witch of Ember like last time, but Alfred said he couldn’t use it for personal reasons, so it was inevitable.

“Then sit here with your back down. It will sting a little, so know that in advance. And since the curse may not be completely lifted, adjust your strength appropriately.”

Alfred placed his hand on Arcel’s back.

The magic power that extends from the tips of her fingers slowly surrounds Arcel’s body.

That’s how the curse is lifted.

Although not completely, the curse that has been suppressing and oppressing the warrior’s power for the past five years will be lifted.

What does that mean?

“I understand. “Leave it to me.”

Arcel said, closing her eyes.

You will be able to face the things you have been ignoring and avoiding until now.

You can now get your hands on things that you couldn’t get back with your hands before.

I no longer had to leave everything to Alfred and just watch helplessly.

Pajik!

Afterwards, a huge magic circle appeared behind Arcel’s back.

The magic circle contained patterns reminiscent of various murals.

A world tree with long roots.

Elves bowing along the World Tree as if worshiping something.

And the warrior kneeling on the world tree.

An unknown hand reaches out from the clouds and hands down the holy sword to the hero.

It all actually happened in the past.

It’s just that there was no one left in this world who remembered.

That is the legend of a hero who is said to have been chosen by God.

“Now, the rest is up to you.”

Alfred said after finishing engraving the magic.

A hero has descended once again on this place.

A warrior said to have defeated the once most powerful Demon King.

A warrior who moved forward without giving in to any trials.

It was the return of the hero.

†††

Honestly, I thought about this often.

What if I hadn’t become a warrior?

Of course, it was true that he was the first warrior to defeat the Demon King and come back alive, but if you asked him if he was better than other warriors of the past, he could not be sure.

Coincidences often happen in the world.

I don’t know if it was just luck that the circumstances came together, and thanks to that, I was able to defeat the Demon King.

It is said that life in the original world is just a little different.

Furthermore, I was wondering whether it was really I who defeated the Demon King.

To be honest, I faced the Demon King in a trance without any conscious awareness, and when I opened my eyes, the Demon King’s head was cut off by the holy sword.

Is it really true that I cut it with my own hands? There were also doubts.

According to others, it was true that I cut down the Demon King, but in the end, I had no memory of defeating the Demon King and beheading him.

This has been a question ever since the day the devil was defeated.

That soon led to distrust in myself.

If someone other than me had been the hero, I might have made fewer sacrifices.

If someone other than me had been a warrior, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Demon King with my own strength.

If someone other than me had been the hero, my comrades wouldn’t have had to face such a cruel death…

The regret of those who left my side has settled in my heart like a sense of guilt over the past five years.

For someone who was already very narrow-minded, the guilt was enough to swallow up my entire heart.

However, recently, that feeling has started to change little by little.

If you did your best, that was enough.

In the end, you succeeded in achieving your goal.

No matter how much you regret the past, nothing will change.

The important thing is to look at the present and move toward the future.

It’s thanks to having someone by my side who said such things.

Moreover, he showed himself another possibility.

It was thanks to him that I was able to discover ways to use magic that I had never even thought of and to break the prejudice against demons.

It was all thanks to him believing in me and caring for me.

So now it is time to repay that trust.

I couldn’t carry on on his back forever.

Even though his leg was broken and he was unable to walk on his own, he needed to walk on his own leg in order to move forward.

That is the way to the future and the path forward.

“…Is it over?”

Arsel slowly opened his eyes and asked.

It didn’t really change much from before.

In fact, the presence or absence of magical power does not cause particularly dramatic changes in the body.

Anyway, the magic that Alfred cast was enough to allow me to travel lightly.

“Yes, it’s over. “Perhaps compared to the past five years, I can fly now and go beyond the starlight?”

Instead, it just gives you wings.

Until now, I had to crawl on the ground because my wings were broken, but now it was as if my wings had recovered to some extent.

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“I see, I understand.”

Arcel lightly squeezed and opened his hand.

Then he stretched out his hand and seemed to be calling for something.

Boom!

Not long after, the holy sword Mistel flew into Arcel’s hand.

A distance of tens of kilometers was covered in just a few seconds.

Previously, even this was difficult and I had to go directly to the lake in the deep cave to retrieve the holy sword, but now I can return just by calling.

“Where is the enemy?”

“The distance in the direction of the World Tree is approximately 16km, so you will probably be able to tell where it is if you get a little closer.”

The atmosphere in Arcel has changed.

Unlike before, when I would still show my emotions and laugh or be shy, now I was completely the same as I was back then.

This is the image of a warrior who does not use personal emotions when holding the holy sword and only judges the situation cool-headedly.

“Anyway, is it okay to wear such thin clothes? “If I don’t wear the right armor, it will rip and I’ll end up naked?”

“That doesn’t matter. “If it’s armor anyway-“

A magical shape begins to form in Arcel’s body.

With blue magical power, each small particle is woven into silver armor.

Arcel, who had just become a warrior, purchased and wore his armor separately, but at some point, he created the armor himself using his own magic.

“Because you can make it yourself.”

“That’s right, it’s a shame. “I found some nice-looking armor from a blacksmith shop.”

“…I would never want to wear armor that looks like underwear in combat.”

“I bought it for you, but please see if I wear it later.”

“Just think about it.”

The armor was so strong that not even the magic that shattered the castle walls could make a single scratch.

Furthermore, unless Arcel’s magic power was exhausted, he would even repair it on his own.

There was even a scandalous rumor going around in the Demon King’s army that this hero was immortal.

“Sheesh, it’s completely gone back to the old days. “It got chilly.”

Alfred crossed his arms around her and clicked his tongue as if he was disappointed.

Perhaps my personal preference is that I liked the continuation of the curse of Arcel.

“Still, my gratitude to you hasn’t changed. “I probably won’t be able to repay this favor no matter what I offer you.”

When Arcel saw that, he smiled slightly and approached.

“You state the obvious. How much have I done for you?”

“But I will show my sincerity. “It’s ugly, but I hope we can move on to this for now.”

“What are you trying to do-“

And then he gently kissed Alfred’s cheek.

Side! The sound reached everyone’s ears.

Although it was short, it was intense.

Alfred’s body froze as if time had stopped at Arcel’s sudden behavior, and Stella, who was watching from below, was speechless with her mouth wide open.

Actually, Arcel himself was just chuckling and laughing.

“…Then I will go. “Please take good care of Stella.”

Arsel said with a slight smile.

Kwaang-!!

After that, he stepped off the ground and leaped toward the sky, leaving a small crater on the ground.

It is heading towards the monster of the World Tree at a speed greater than the speed at which the Holy Sword flew just moments ago.

Alfred and Stella looked blankly at the back.

A silence that lasted for a moment and I don’t know why.

Alfred was the first to break this delicate silence.

“…Oh my god, what should I do? I think I’m falling for the hero right now.”

Alfred responded like a princess meeting her prince and tapped Stella on the shoulder.

I will never forget the soft, warm feel of her face.

Even though she said that, she was secretly happy and shook her head to both sides.

Nevertheless, he did not forget to deliberately get on Stella’s nerves.

“It’s noisy!”

Stella, who intuited everything, spit out a word full of her resentment.

“What’s wrong? Come to think of it, you idiot, you said this earlier. Live happily with me, up to your share. “Are you going to cancel it now?”

Alfred, however, flirts and drives the stake into the ground.

I was already very angry and depressed, but now I felt even more ashamed.

“It’s noisy…!”

For some reason, bloody tears seemed to be flowing from Stella’s eyes.

†††

‘Is it that place?’

Arsel, who was almost gliding through the sky, discovered an unknown elf emitting light on the ground.

Shadows continue to gather around the elf, whose eyes, nose, and mouth emit light.

However, perhaps because of the light, the gathered shadows continued to disperse, and perhaps that was why the elf was unable to chase Alfred.

‘I haven’t noticed this side yet.’

Put magical power into the holy sword.

The curse has been lifted, but he has not yet fully regained his strength.

As Alfred said in advance, it seems that the curse cannot be completely lifted, and the overload on the body from using magical power has disappeared, but compared to the power used when dealing with the Demon King, the output is far lower.

Compared to then, the power now is about half that.

It looks like it will gradually recover, but it is still too early.

‘In that case, now might be your chance.’

Still, I thought it was enough.

The holy sword begins to emit an ever clearer, blue light.

The same color as the open, clear sky.

The magic power gathered in the holy sword took the form of a huge sword, which soon became a huge blade and clashed with the ground.

Its power was enough to split the remaining base of the World Tree vertically.

Soft and beautiful, yet strong.

It was as quiet as a butterfly’s wings, but it extinguishes everything that touches the light.

It was like stars falling from the sky.