Chapter 43

Interlude The Prophet “Do you really mean to go?” the young man asked, confused. He was tall, burly, and had blond hair and smooth facial features—the very picture of valor and refinement. A large sword was slung across his back. He was speaking to another young man with chestnut-colored hair. “Of course, Leon. Remember what the Prophet said? ‘Save a man named Leonard.’ I have to do what they say, right?” The young man named Ares looked back over his shoulder with a sheepish smile. “But listen, Ares. We’ve heard about this Leonard guy on the road, and he sounds like bad news. Nobody in Arkand had a nice thing to say about him. The knight in charge of guarding the town seemed really disgruntled about him, remember? Do we really have to save someone with such a poor reputation?” “I remember what that knight said. He mentioned how Leonard was ‘ruthless about his methods’ and how he ‘used everyone else as a decoy.’ The guy sure didn’t seem popular.” Even as Ares said that, however, his feet did not stop moving. “That’s not the only thing, Ares,” a black-haired girl in a white priest’s garb whispered sweetly into his ear from behind. “There was that merchant fellow who commissioned him directly. He said Leonard was ‘a money-grubber,’ ‘lacking in scruples,’ and ‘the furthest thing you can imagine from a Hero.’ He was basically warning us away from him, don’t you think? Shouldn’t we avoid getting mixed up with someone like that?” She was a beautiful girl. Passersby stopped to do a double take at her, men and women alike. Any man would have listened to a girl like her whispering in his ear, but Ares’s demeanor did not so much as flicker. “Something doesn’t quite add up to me, Maria. I don’t think those people were lying, but it didn’t seem like their feelings were completely negative. Maybe there’s something to this Leonard person,” Ares said, looking Maria straight in the eyes. His gaze was unswerving, even when he looked at her. She found it endearing. “Hmm? You think?” She giggled. “If you say so, Ares…” “Speaking of which, the chief of Gastan did seem to act strange,” a very thin-looking young man interjected, striding up next to Ares. He wore a mage’s purple robes and carried a large staff. Between his humorless expression and his high-strung attitude, he gave off the impression of a stereotypical mage. “When he said, ‘I don’t really want to talk about him,’ it sounded like he was trying to cover something up. The rumors said Leonard took the grain being exported from that village by force, but the chief never gave a straight answer about it. He probably could have complained about Leonard even harder and nobody would have batted an eye…” “Yeah. You have a point, Solon. Everyone had bad things to say about Leonard. But they laid it on too thick, especially the people who’d dealt with him directly. This Leonard guy has clearly been taking on the hard jobs, but nobody said a word of gratitude for any of it—not the knight from Arkand, not the Erdelian merchant, not the Gastan village chief, nobody. They were good, honest people. It’s weird that they didn’t give Leonard credit for anything…” Ares looked toward Solon. Maria pouted, but Ares was oblivious to this, and Solon was similarly unruffled. “That does sound off. But listen, Ares. The Prophet told you to go to Garnahazza, right? That used to be the capital of Malika, but now it’s the Demon Lord’s territory. Don’t you think that’s a bit too dangerous? Besides, it’s hard to trust the Prophet when you’re the only one they show themself to…” Solon appeared to be warier of the Prophet than Leonard. “Don’t worry, Solon. The Prophet’s not a bad person, at the very least. I guarantee it.” A gentle smile came over Ares’s face. “Are you sure? The demons have been murdering potential Heroes for years. That demon behind the attack at the Great Forest of Lozorof was after us. Not to mention that you’ve been acknowledged as the Hero not just by the Prophet but the king as well. You don’t know what lengths the demons will go to kill you. Who knows—maybe the Prophet is an act by the monsters. You could stand to be more careful.” “I know, Solon. The demons have killed a lot of people, our classmates at Falm Academy included. Besides…” A deep melancholy colored Ares’s brown eyes. Solon and the others figured he was thinking of their dead classmates. “Either way, we have to beat the demons one day,” Ares continued. “There’s a general by the name of Berzera at Garnahazza. Right now, the Demon Lord’s army is on top, and if we want to turn the tables, then we have to beat Berzera. If Leonard really went off to fight him, then this is good for us. The Hero shouldn’t just defeat the Demon Lord; they have to save everyone. Slaying the Demon Lord doesn’t matter if the country is destroyed. So let’s go.” “You’re right. Being the Hero is about saving people, not just about defeating the enemy,” Leon agreed. “That’s what I’ve always thought.” Maria gazed at Ares’s face from the side with evident admiration. “Personally, I think it’s best to prioritize beating the Demon Lord while his army is distracted by conquest,” said Solon. “But fine. You’re the Hero here. That would never change in my mind, even if the Prophet was a fake. My job is to make your path a little easier.” Solon’s uptight expression loosened, and he kept up his stride alongside Ares. I’ve finally made it. I gazed at Ares through my phantom. Many, many months and years had passed since that fateful day—too many to count. On some of those days, I’d felt like I was getting closer. On others, my goal had felt more distant than ever. Ares—no, Zack—became the Hero through pure coincidence. I did not choose this boy. He adopted the role through his own strength after his dear friend died. It took a considerable amount of gumption for me to appear in front of him. I would not have been surprised if he had battered me with curses. But at the same time, I knew he wasn’t that kind of person. “Zack, I acknowledge you as the Hero,” I said to him after the incident at the Great Forest of Lozorof. Zack reacted with a face full of sorrow. “No, Prophet. I’m Ares. Remember?” “…Is that truly what you wish?” “Of course. Ares is the Hero. That’s what I want you to tell everyone, if you can. Could you do that for me?” Zack asked with a rueful smile. That was all he said. Zack made no mention of the fact that Ares had died because I’d made him the Hero. It was another item to add to my list of sins. The next day, I manifested my phantom in front of a great crowd and announced that Ares was the Hero, just as Zack had asked me to. When Leon, Maria, and Solon—all powerful Hero candidates themselves—joined his party, the king acknowledged him as the Hero. For all intents and purposes, Ares was the Hero. I recalled what Leonard had once said: “I reckon the Hero has to be a stubborn, no-frills sorta guy. The type who digs in his heels no matter what. He’s gotta be strong, of course—that’s a given—but that can’t be the only thing. There’s mental strength, too, y’know? I reckon that’s what the Hero needs.” Now someone had appeared who fit that description exactly. Ares had already overcome many trials. He defeated every demon who sought to dispose of the Hero. A large part of this was because of the help of his companions, not his strength as an individual. Leon could slay any monster, while Maria could heal any wound. Solon saw through each and every one of the Demon Lord army’s machinations. Curiously enough, they all showed greater capabilities than when they had been the Heroes themselves. Perhaps they had it in them to defeat the Demon Lord. Unfortunately, the war raged on all the while. If left unchecked, the Demon Lord’s army would crush its opposition. I knew many lives had already spilled from my grasp, but if Ares could save Leonard and defeat Berzera at this point, then countless others could still live—including the refugees Leonard and his party had fought so hard to protect. Perhaps this meant a detour in Ares’s quest to vanquish the Demon Lord. Perhaps I was failing here as the Prophet. Even so, I wanted Ares to save Leonard.