Chapter 20

Fragment 2 The Hero I met in the throne room was a very different person from what I’d imagined. I thought he would be a valiant knight or, if not that, then at least a strong man like a thuggish adventurer. But he turned out to be neither. Why’s he the Hero? I was wondering, when he said to me: “Your Highness, I make this promise to you: I swear that I will defeat the Demon Lord. But I will not return. So please marry someone you love.” I had no idea what he was saying. If he wasn’t planning to return after defeating the Demon Lord, that meant he didn’t expect a reward. What was he fighting for, then? That was the moment when Ares Schmidt sparked my interest as a person. When I heard that Ares was sparring in the training hall, I watched him in secret. He and Leon were fighting. Since I practiced the sword, too, I could follow their moves to a degree, and I could tell that Leon was way stronger. His swordplay was powerful, swift, and polished—the kind of traits you’d associate with a Sword Saint. Anyone learning the blade would aspire to be like him. On the other hand, despite not having Leon’s skills, Ares fought pretty evenly against him. Part of that was because he incorporated magic in his fighting, but he honestly wasn’t that bad with a sword. But I just didn’t sense any talent from him. He was about as good as anyone would be if they went through some proper training. Despite that, Ares refused to back down no matter how many hits Leon landed on him. Although he wasn’t flashy, he was stout like a thick tree trunk. I could see this was the result of many hours of training. Maybe it was because he didn’t know when to give up, but I found myself cheering him on even as I wondered why he hadn’t quit already. Eventually, the spar ended in a draw. Leon was still raring to go, while Ares sank to the ground in exhaustion. Once I was sure that Leon was gone, I called out to Ares. “I was watching you,” I said. From talking with Ares, I learned that he really was content with beating the Demon Lord and leaving it at that. He had no interest in becoming king or marrying me. In fact, he didn’t seem to care about his own life at all. Is he going to be okay? Even though he promised to return alive, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I checked in on him often for the rest of his stay in the palace. Whenever I saw him, he was always training somewhere, whether it was sparring with Leon, using healing magic with Maria, or practicing attack magic with Solon. He practiced so much it made me worry if he ever rested at all. But when the palace residents saw him at it, they started gossiping about how his swordplay and magic were nothing special. None of them took him seriously. I wondered why. I’d never seen anyone work as hard as he did. I studied books, swordplay, and horse riding, but I didn’t try nearly as much as he did. If anything, I was kind of complacent because people said I was talented, and I felt like I was good enough already. But Ares went full tilt at everything. I could tell just by watching him. He did nothing to hide it. It was amazing how he was going off to fight the Demon Lord even though he wasn’t anything special. If he was doing this even though he wasn’t special, then why weren’t the rest of us going in his place? “Then you all should fight the Demon Lord yourselves!” I wanted to tell those naysayers. But I couldn’t say that—because I couldn’t fight the Demon Lord, either. Even with the Sword Saint, the Holy Maiden, and the Sage along with me, I’d be too scared to go to the Demon Lord’s land with just the four of us. I wanted someone else to do that, not me. We were all weak and cowardly. We couldn’t do anything ourselves, and yet we selfishly expected others to pick up the slack for us. We’d be disappointed if those people didn’t live up to our hopes, and we’d make comments nobody asked for. So I made up my mind that if nobody else was going to be Ares’s cheerleader, I would take on the role. I offered a prayer for him to return alive, safe and sound. The day came for Ares and his party to embark on their journey. They slipped out of the castle early in the morning; the demons might have noticed them if we sent them off with a big fanfare. Apparently, Ares wanted a quiet departure, partly because a demon had attacked people at the Great Forest of Lozorof. “Guess Heroes can be cowards, too,” somebody said. What was wrong with being a coward? If a valorous person became the Hero, the Demon Lord would have picked them off a long time ago. And besides, we were the real cowards for leaving the job to others and not lifting a finger ourselves. I got on my horse. “I’m going on a quick trip,” I told my attendants, then galloped off without waiting for a reply. I caught up to Ares’s party just as their carriage was leaving the capital. The driver stopped the carriage in shock when he saw me. Ares and the others stepped out to see what was going on. “Princess Alexia…” Ares looked stunned. Leon and Solon watched on in interest. Only Maria seemed annoyed. Well, that was a fair reaction to someone interrupting their travels. “Don’t die! You don’t have to defeat the Demon Lord!” I blurted out. It was not the kind of thing you were meant to say to the Hero. “Thanks, Princess Alexia.” Ares, meanwhile, looked cheerful. “Seems I’ve made you worry. I’m surprised that there’s someone out there who would feel that way about me.” He then went back to the carriage. Leon and the others followed him. The group eventually got going again, and Ares waved until I could no longer see him. I waved back until the carriage had disappeared into the distance. When I got back to the palace, there was a sound scolding waiting for me.