CHAPTER 9

Before the Journey

“What were you thinking?!”

On the outskirts of Edona, I vent my anger on Seiya. After thoroughly eliminating the charred ash from this world, our only rewards were the resentful gazes of the townspeople. Unable to stand the awkward silence, I force a smile and push Seiya from behind until we’re far away from the town square.

“They were thanking us, and you ruined it! You went from Hero to Demon Lord in the blink of an eye! A little kid even threw a rock at me!”

Seiya’s expression doesn’t carry a hint of remorse. With a distant tone, he murmurs:

“I saved them all from Chaos Machina. The people of this world seem rather inconsiderate.”

“You’re the one who’s inconsiderate! Jaimie caught on fire thanks to you! Look at the fruit he gave us! It’s completely burned! We can’t eat this!”

“Not my problem.”

He briskly continues ahead.

I can’t believe him! The town literally went up in flames because of him, and he still has the nerve to act like that! What did I ever see in him?! I mean, yeah, he’s superhot, but his personality is trash!

Frustrated, I approach the town exit until I hear someone running our way. I turn to find Nina and her father. Catching his breath, the father bows to us.

“I-I’m so sorry about what happened. You worked so hard to save our town, but you ended up being ordered to leave. I think everyone was just surprised because of all the fire…”

I shake my head, letting him know it isn’t his fault.

“We brought this on ourselves. I mean, we burned a shop…and a person.”

Actually putting it into words depresses me. This isn’t what a Hero does. This isn’t even what a sane person does.

“A-anyway, I wanted to thank you for saving us! I’m so glad I caught you before you left!”

Nina’s father hands a pouch to Seiya.

“It’s not much, but I hope it helps!”

When Seiya, who had been looking away the entire time, peeks into the bag, his eyes light up.

“Oh, money. It’s always good to have money to buy items and equipment. I’ll take it.”

“S-Seiya! You’re a Hero, remember? Show some modesty.”

However, the Hero places a silver coin in his palm, then furrows his brow.

“Hmm… There’s less here than I thought. I’m sure you’ve got more than this. Empty those pockets.”

“…?! That’s not what a Hero does! Now it looks like you’re mugging him!”

I yell at him, but Nina’s father reaches into his pocket with a wry smirk and pulls out some change to hand to Seiya. Nina then sends me an innocent smile.

“Ha-ha-ha! He may be sick in the head, but he’s a good person! That much I know!”

I place a hand on Nina’s shoulder and somehow manage to force a smile.

“Well, Nina, you’re half-right. While he is sick in the head, he is definitely not a good person.”

“Excuse me? I am not sick.”

“A mentally stable person wouldn’t set people on fire and extort money from others! Ugh! I’m so embarrassed! Come on—we’re going to the next town!”

After bowing to them, I swiftly take Seiya by the hand and begin walking. I hear Nina yell out to us from the background.

“Thank you, nice lady! Thank you, sick man! Thank you sooo much!”

“N-Nina! Don’t say that!”

Even after being scolded by her father, Nina continues waving good-bye with a huge smile on her face. Never having been more embarrassed in my life, I say good-bye to the town of Edona.

After walking in silence for a good while, Seiya tries to stuff the money he received in his pocket. Glaring at him from behind, I notice something fall from his chest.

…It’s the pressed flower Nina gave him.

“Wow, Seiya, you still had this? Didn’t you say this was a cursed item that attracted enemies?”

“I thought about it and came to the conclusion that that would be advantageous. It’s a lot easier to control a situation when the enemy makes the first move.”

“…Mm-hmm, sure.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing.”

I have no clue what he’s thinking. He’s unpredictable. But…well, whatever.

After my anger subsides, I pull myself together and put a cheerful note in my voice.

“Come on—let’s hurry to the next town! According to the information Great Goddess Ishtar gave me, we should arrive at Seimul if we keep heading north. Your first ally should be there! Oh, I can’t wait!”

However, Seiya stops in his tracks, then clearly declares:

“No thanks. It’s too soon for that.”

“What?! Wh-wh-what do you mean ‘too soon’?!”

“I’m heading back to the spirit world.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Why?!”

“Why else? To train.”

“Seriously?! You’re going to go train in the Summoning Chamber again?!”

“Yes. After giving it some honest thought, I’m positive that once the Demon Lord learns that I’ve defeated General Chaos Machina, he’s just going to send someone stronger. I should prepare before arriving at the next town, just in case.”

“You’re probably right about the Demon Lord eventually sending someone stronger, but with stats like yours, I can’t imagine them being much of a threat.”

“Don’t make assumptions. There’s no guarantee that I’ll win next time, so I have to make sure I’m always at my best until then.”

“B-but if we don’t go to the next town, you won’t meet your next ally, and you won’t be able to buy stronger equipment. Don’t you think that’s a problem?”

Seiya places a hand on his chin in deep thought.

“It would be nice to have new weapons and armor. Can’t you just make them? You made my bed in the Summoning Chamber, after all.”

“My divine powers to create can only be used in the spirit world. Naturally, it’s also prohibited to bring anything I make there to another world. Giving humans excessive help goes against the laws of the gods.”

Seiya frowns.

“You’re useless.”

“What?! How dare you! I’m an excellent supporter! You saw my healing magic! I completely healed Jaimie’s burns after you set him on fire!”

“I could’ve done that with a medicinal herb. In other words, your value to society is only around medicinal herb level.”

“Don’t compare me to a medicinal herb!”

“At any rate, I’m returning to the spirit world to train. If you have a problem with that, you can go to the next town by yourself.”

“G-going to the next town without you would be pointless. What are you even saying…?”

“Then hurry up and open the gate to the spirit world, herb woman.”

“F-fine… Wait! What did you just call me?!”