Chapter 86: Chapter 85: The Last One Is Me (2)

It was a well-known fact among adventurers that heroes were often stubborn and morally bankrupt.

Ironically, I came to realize this after encountering the eccentricities of the first hero who helped me after I arrived in this world.

“What is the ultimate state of a swordmaster known to cut through everything? Radioactivity! A swordsman who handles radioactivity as aura, ignoring the opponent’s defense and destroying at the genetic level, is truly the strongest!”

“Uh… I wouldn’t recommend that.”

“Shut up! I’m a hero, and my ability is invincible!!”

Despite my dissuasion, he used his ability to create a sword that emitted radiation, slicing through all enemies in his path, fully indulging in the thrill of being a swordmaster.

And as a result, he soon succumbed to acute systemic cancer and died.

After witnessing such Darwin Award-worthy stupidity from the first hero, I became skeptical of heroes and spent some time anxiously shifting from porter activities to labor jobs like city reconstruction and wall repair.

“Oh, hey there, you work really diligently. How about coming over here and helping with some digging?”

I met Ja-seong about a week after I started working at that construction site.

He, who had arrived in this world a few years before me, was one of the heroes who assisted the empire primarily through labor, not adventure.

As a hero, his abilities greatly impacted the construction sites, to the extent that plans were modified around his participation.

Yet, this inevitably led to considerable doubts about his activities.

It seemed unlikely that those with power would leave someone of his abilities alone, yet why did he work in labor without any patrons and settle for an income below the average hero?

“It’s simply because I don’t like being under someone else’s control.”

One day, curious about this during a meal, I asked him, and he casually explained.

“The power of a hero comes from their patrons, so no matter the title of a hero, without being under someone, you can’t enjoy any power or benefits.”

“But as a hero, can’t you benefit in various ways? Like being treated as a hero by the citizens.”

“That damned hero treatment also needs to be selectively applied. If you’re a hero, you’re supposed to save and protect everything, but ‘this is politically problematic, so delay it; that doesn’t make money, so do this first’… With constant meddling in my work, how can anyone enjoy being a hero under those conditions?”

As he said, heroes were essentially promotional tools, when you get down to it.

Although his behavior was unbecoming of a hero, he had his own sense of justice, which likely didn’t fit what was imposed on him.

Rather than being an idol to the public, he pursued justice accompanied by freedom… In essence, this male hero seemed more like a wanderer or gallant than a conventional hero.

“Of course, I could tolerate it if it were for making money, but there are things I just can’t stand, no matter what.”

However, my impression of him wasn’t just because of his human-like and friendly demeanor, which differed from that of typical heroes.

Those who tread a different path from the usual heroes typically had eccentric aspects to them.

He was one of the most memorable eccentrics among such heroes.

“What can’t you tolerate?”

“The food is tasteless.”

“…What?”

“The food of this world’s nobility is utterly tasteless. Moreover, sitting politely at a table and waiting dumbly for appetizers and desserts to come and go, does that make any sense?”

“Um, well, there were things like omakase in our original world, too…”

“Whether it’s omakase or irasshaimase, dawdling isn’t a man’s meal! A man’s meal is about going to a Korean restaurant, ordering stir-fried pork, drinking a bowl of Sikhye, and then quickly getting back to work, right!?”

Korean restaurant, huh?

I never expected to hear about a Korean restaurant in this other world, something I’d only heard of when working part-time on weekends to earn tuition.

“Even though the meals on the construction sites here are more palatable than the nobility’s food, I still miss the meals from our previous world sometimes.”

“Ahaha, I sometimes feel the same. Eating greasy food every day, I really miss the kimchi stew we had back home…”

“Oh, Woo Hyo-Sung, you spoke at the right time. Speaking of which, I’m going to get some ingredients for kimchi stew. Can you help me carry some stuff for a bit?”

“What? A porter job?”

“Haha! Don’t worry! I’ll take care of all the dangerous stuff.”

Having developed a camaraderie while working together, it wasn’t easy to outright refuse him.

Thus, from the early days of my arrival in this world, I joined Ja-seong on his culinary adventures.

Well, calling it an adventure was a stretch; most of the places we went to were dangerous areas like magical realms or dungeons.

In this world, there were no convenient manufactured goods or genetically modified foods like in our original world, and finding substitutes was a risky business.

“Ah yes, so we came to this forest teeming with man-eating plants just to gather garlic?”

“I tried them recently, and they taste just like garlic. I’ll quickly go and dig some up, so you just wait here for a bit, little brother!”

There was probably no one else but him who would dive into a cluster of man-eating plants just to dig up some garlic.

“Why are the barbarians here walking cabbages on leashes?”

“I looked into it, and it’s similar to how Hinduism reveres cows. They believe cabbages have life, so they treat them like pets…”

“There’s a limit to being uncivilized. Hyo-Sung, distract them for a bit. I need to harvest all these cabbages for kimchi-making.”

“…You do realize we might end up as sacrificial offerings in a voodoo ritual, right?”

He was probably the only one who would raid a barbarian’s ritual garden just to eat some kimchi.

Someone making seasoning from lava containing special minerals melted from a volcano to give a smoky flavor to stir-fried pork, and another battling a ten-meter tall ice golem to get ingredients for ice cream to be eaten as dessert…

“It’s a world where even preparing a meal is tough! But isn’t the taste alright, considering the effort put into getting it!?”

“It’s just… well… edible.”

“Haha! Yes, we risked our lives for that ordinariness, something we won’t experience again in this world!”

Despite the reward not seeming like much, Ja-seong genuinely rejoiced, focusing on the sense of familiarity it brought.

Though I couldn’t shake off the thought of him being eccentric, dining with him occasionally made me nostalgic for the old world.

The fact that one had to risk their life just to get a glimpse of the fragments of the previous world made me realize that I could no longer return to my original world.

“Well, now that the meal is over, it’s time to pray.”

Feeling that bitterness at the end of the meal, he would always quietly pray in front of me, holding a cross.

It was a moment when he, always jovial and acting on a whim, revealed a solemn dignity akin to working.

This was an attitude he could show as a believer in a religion, separate from his eccentric traits.

“Speaking of which, Ja-seong. You said you were supporting a religious order, right?”

“It’s not a very famous order, but, well, the more powerful ones are no different from nobility, so it felt odd to join them. Smaller, lesser-known orders tend to be more active in community service.”

Rather than becoming a lackey for orders that already had everything and enjoying the benefits, he wanted to help lesser-known orders that devoted themselves to caring for people, even if they had nothing.

When thinking that such action befit a hero, he often explained the reasons why he adopted a religion.

“In my original world, I lived recklessly and committed several regrettable acts. So, I tried to mend my ways by volunteering and embracing religion… But just because I came to another world doesn’t mean my trashy past disappears, and I can’t stop repenting, can I?”

“…Contrary to appearances, you’re surprisingly devout.”

“Devout, huh? It’s just something I do for my own peace of mind.”

Helping others was ultimately a rebellion against his past behavior and a way to correct his own actions.

In this way, he considered himself a hypocrite, but on the other hand, he thought that even such hypocrisy was enough if it helped someone.

Especially after meeting several people intoxicated with their own abilities and moral failures.

“Hiiiik! Please don’t kill me!”

However, there inevitably comes a day when you part ways with someone you’ve come to respect.

The catalyst for this was when we ventured into the demon realm to gather ingredients and found a demon tribe member isolated in the middle of the forest.

“Please, please don’t kill me. I’m still too weak to have properly absorbed any vital energy… If you spare me, I’ll live a good life! I won’t return to the Demon King’s army and will just hide away in a cave, please!”

The demon tribe was clearly marked as an enemy of humanity.

However, the one Ja-seong and I encountered then seemed too harmless and fragile to be considered a member of the demon tribe.

Her appearance was like that of a ‘succubus’ who seduced people to absorb their vital energy, but in reality, she looked nothing more than a 10-year-old girl without any seductive aura.

“Woo Hyo-sung, what do you think I should do with this demon?”

“…She looks pitiful, but still, she’s a demon, so we should deal with her.”

I felt my heart soften, but after all, she was a succubus, a member of the demon tribe, a race that should never associate with humans.

If her display of tears in front of us was crocodile tears, she might slash our throats the moment she sees an opening.

Having seen several adventurers die due to their negligence, I hoped Ja-seong, who usually took the lead, would deal with the demon.

“Well, that’s true, but you know…”

Yet, despite such wishes, he seemed hesitant, even after seeing the young succubus.

Just as I was feeling anxious that he might sympathize with her, he seemed to make up his mind and reach out to the young succubus.

“I’ve decided. I’ll take this child to the religious order I’m indebted to and take care of her.”

“What? You’re taking a demon to the order…? Is it because you feel sorry for her being abandoned?”

“Haha, don’t worry too much. I have a plan. But since there are various things to consider, I’ll need to focus on the order’s activities for a while, so I might not see you for some time.”

“If we meet again someday, I’ll buy you a meal!”

With that farewell, he parted ways with me, and for the past two years, we haven’t sought each other out, each focused on our own circumstances.

The only thing I knew was that soon after, rumors began to spread that he started gaining fame as the ‘Shovel Knight.’

And that the obscure religious order he belonged to began to gain renown, starting with the ‘Birth of a Saint’…

“Woo Hyo-sung, have you been doing well!? I’ve heard rumors lately that you’re making a name as the Hero Hunter. You’re not planning to hunt me too, are you!?”

“…Haha, if you were a fallen hero, then maybe.”

I worried that something major might have happened to him since that day, but it seemed his hearty nature remained unchanged.

Seeing his consistent demeanor so far, I was a bit relieved, but then, looking down at me, he began to stiffen as if he’d noticed something.

“Saying ‘fallen’ makes me a bit concerned. Woo Hyo-sung, seeing you after a long time, I feel a slightly evil aura. Did you get cursed somewhere?!”

“Ah, well, you see, I was cursed recently…”

Come to think of it, Ja-seong was a genuine knight belonging to a religious order.

Being sensitive to evil energies, he might be able to help me greatly in finding a solution to the curse.

“Gorgon Zola? It’s a miracle you survived after encountering a kin of the Corpse Lord.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Ha! It’s natural to worry about someone you’ve shared meals with! Speaking of which, if you’re looking for a place to lift the curse, why not stop by our order to get checked? I also have a lot to tell you about the current state of our Saint.”

“Oh, yes. Speaking of which, I heard that a saint appeared in the order not long after we parted ways…”

I was about to gratefully accept his offer and follow him when suddenly, as I was about to step forward, I felt a question arise from his words.

“Hold on, what do you mean ‘current state’? Have I ever met the saint of Ja-seong’s order?”

“Of course! The little demon we saved that time, I made her the Saint of our order!”

“…What?”

“Why do you look like that? Is there a problem?”

How could you say that, you crazy person?

For a religious person, demons or undead were beings never to be associated with, yet not only did he bring one to the order, but he also made her a saint.

If others found out, wouldn’t he be misunderstood as a heretic?

“No, Ja-seong. I understand that you’re quite an unusual person, but even so, isn’t this going too far?”

“Don’t worry, I did it all with a plan in mind!”

“…Are you sure it’s really okay?”

“Hehe, it’s better to show you than to tell. Let’s talk more once we get there.”

Ah, well, okay.

This person has survived in this world longer than me; he must have some reason for this madness.

For now, I’ll reserve judgment and stay neutral. Thinking so, I decided to continue following him to lift the curse.

“Here we are. That’s our order’s main base… Huh?”

A faint exclamation escaped his lips as we approached the cathedral at our destination.

The reason became immediately clear upon seeing the front of the cathedral.

More than ten armed knights were stationed in front of the cathedral… No, upon closer inspection, they weren’t just ordinary knights.

The emblem on the flag soaring among them revealed that they were knights of the ‘Friga Order,’ the state religion of the empire.

“…You weren’t affiliated with the Friga Order, right?”

“Like I said, places with such a scale don’t suit my temperament.”

Right, when we last parted, he belonged to a lesser-known, small religion, barely maintaining its existence outside the empire, far from the empire’s state religion.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The emergence of a saint in that religion and its rising fame were relatively recent events.

Naturally, the fact that the Friga Order, the empire’s state religion, had come armed to Ja-seong’s order meant that something quite serious had happened.

“Brother, don’t tell me… this means…”

“Hyo-sung, you’re an outsider, so just watch from behind.”

Ja-seong patted my shoulder and then moved towards the order of knights.

“I must take responsibility for what I’ve done.”

In his departing figure, carrying a shovel on his shoulder, there was no hesitation, just like before.