Chapter 2

On the Streets “You want to know what I think of the Hero? Well, I’m grateful to him for defeating the Demon Lord. It’s thanks to him that we’re alive today.” “He could do it all—swordplay, attack magic, and healing magic. A great man indeed. It’s a shame he passed away.” “His absence is certainly felt. I heard he was brilliant even at school. I’m sure we’ll need people like him in the future.” “I suppose it was a wound or curse from the Demon Lord that killed him, yes? He was up against the most formidable foe you can imagine. They must have taken each other out.” “Well, he had to be great to take down the Demon Lord. But y’know, they say he came from some backwoods town. Kind of freaky to imagine him becoming king if he returned. Not that I know anything about the nation or politics or whatever.” “How’d he die on the way back? You wouldn’t think a monster would stand a chance against the guy who killed the Demon Lord. It’s a bit of a mystery.” “I always thought that Sword Saint fella was fishy. I mean, he’s some big shot count. Maybe he offed the Hero so that he’d be next in line for the throne. Don’t they say that if it wasn’t for the Hero, the princess would’ve married the Sword Saint? Whoops, you oughtta keep that between us. You never know what they’ll do to you for saying that.” “I heard the Sage and the Holy Maiden were childhood friends. Didn’t the Sage have a crush on the Holy Maiden, but she was into the Hero? Maybe the Sage snapped and killed the Hero over that?” “Yeah, I reckon they were at odds over the Holy Maiden. She’s an incredible beauty, after all. What if the Sage and the Sword Saint got jealous over how she liked the Hero, so they teamed up and made him kaput? When you think of it that way, I can’t help but feel sorry for the Holy Maiden. She’s still single to this day.” “It’s because of his commoner background, don’t you think? I doubt the nobility thought too kindly of him. If he returned home and became the king, they’d have to take orders from a commoner, and I bet they didn’t like the sound of that. I think they got someone to kill him.”