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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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“You are… the escort from Itisiel, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know who you are, but I see you are a non-believer.”
I didn’t believe in religion in my past life.
I was just an extremely ordinary person who believed that something divine could exist, but never thought it would have any influence on everyday life.
And now?
Now that I’ve even been reincarnated, there was no way I couldn’t believe.
Of course, in line with Itisiel’s principle of polytheism, I positively acknowledged the existence of various gods, and while I was always grateful to the unknown being who gave me a second life, I was also prepared to change my faith if I ever truly came to know it – a man who understands grace.
Maybe that’s why, even if there were power struggles between nations, it was absurd to see them trying to ignore and belittle the existence of the Hero, a miracle, from such a biased perspective.
“A non-believer? I also have faith.”
“Don’t tell me you believe in that monotheism, that even a passing dog wouldn’t believe in?”
“E-Even a passing… what?”
“That monotheism that even a passing dog wouldn’t believe in?”
I didn’t think he really asked again because he didn’t hear me, but I still told him one more time.
Even the Empire didn’t deny the existence of other gods, even though their national religion was the Imperial Holy Church.
But these guys, from the very first meeting, called the Hero a fraud, didn’t they?
So, seeing their reaction, asking them if they believe in monotheism, where only their god is the real one, was neither prejudice nor an unfair question.
“…Hah. It’s good to be faithful, but you’re still naive. You were born and raised in Itisiel, yet you’re telling me you believe in the prophecy that a single Hero will really defeat all the demons and bring peace?”
“What do you know, blabbering on without even setting foot near Itisiel? On top of that, the way you’re distorting the prophecy sounds exactly like a cultist.”
“W-What are you talking about! Take that back this instant!”
Right.
While monotheism could be considered just as an insult, being called a cultist was a matter of life and death, something they couldn’t just let slide.
But was there any other way?
They really were acting like some.
“Isn’t that right? Then don’t go around speaking carelessly about a prophecy you can’t even remember properly. The accurate prophecy is that ‘the Hero will drive out the Demon King and bring stability to humanity.’”
“What’s the difference…!”
“What are you talking about? They won’t bring ‘peace’, nor will they ‘defeat’ the ‘demons’. By ‘driving out’ the ‘Demon King’, they will bring ‘stability’. How on earth is that the same meaning as the cultish statement you just made?”
I called them cultists to tease them, but could they really not tell the difference between the two?
I started to wonder if they were actually cultists…?
“S-Stop calling us cultists! I will not tolerate this any longer!”
“Isn’t doubting the Hero, a product of miracles, the same as doubting the God of Light worshipped by the Imperial Holy Church? Furthermore, it could even be interpreted as the Empire deceiving the gods and forging the prophecy. You were the ones who threw insults first, so what makes you think you’re in any position to be so self-righteous?”
“Grr…!”
They weren’t completely brainless, as they hesitated after being hit by the undeniable truth I ruthlessly threw at them.
Only then did Siegfried, who had been listening to our conversation quietly, step in front of me.
“Little brother, hold on a second. We need to check, because it’s not certain yet.”
“Check?”
“I told you. Some people think it’s a scam, but some acknowledge the Hero, but don’t believe the Hero can handle everything, so they believe they need to step up themselves.”
I almost burst out laughing at their reaction, which clearly questioned how much he had investigated, but I barely managed to hold it in.
The non-believers, however, scoffed.
“Actually, the Demon King and the demons are nothing much. We suspect that Itisiel is in cahoots with the Empire, making up lies about threats to humanity to pressure neighboring countries.”
Looking at them brazenly revealing their “amazing” deductions and the non-believers nodding in agreement, Siegfried’s face, which had been so ordinary until now, suddenly contorted.
“You goddamn bastards!! If the threat of the Demon King was a lie, do you think I’d be suffering like a dog, dragged around by the Goddess by my hair?!”
With truly enraged eyes, Siegfried grabbed his sword without a moment’s hesitation and charged.
Yeah, he had every right to be angry this time.
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Even as they watched Hero Siegfried charge at them with his massive greatsword, the envoys remained calm.
Of course, his approach was fast, considering he was holding a sword no different from a giant lump of iron, but they were also Aura users, so they had taken that into account.
“We’ll cut off the spirits and magic first!”
The kingdoms hadn’t dispatched them to the Empire without a plan.
They had assumed the Empire would arrange something like this to exaggerate the Hero’s power, so they had been gathering all the information flowing in from the Empire, separating the lies from the truth, and making thorough preparations to deal with the Hero.
In fact, even then, the preparation itself was simple.
Take away the magical and spirit talents from the Hero, who possessed rare talents in both magic and spirits.
Fortunately, there were already Sealing Stones and Mana Suppressors that blocked communication with spirits, and the conditions for their use were not special, and their performance was guaranteed.
With just that, 2/3 of his abilities would be sealed.
They were confident that they could defeat a Hero which was left with only swordsmanship.
With that confidence, the Fazson Kingdom escort took out the two tools he had put in his arms and threw them into the air.
Now, the two magic tools that had just left his fingertips would absorb the surrounding mana and activate.
“Oh my. You’re pulling out all the stops.”
He thought as he repositioned his sword to strike.
“Huh?”
The Itisiel escort, who had been standing behind the Hero, muttered softly and swung the sword he was holding into the air.
And then, the magic tools fell to the floor without any change, as if they had malfunctioned.
All the members of the envoy party, who had already finished their pre-planned strategy and were about to take action as soon as the thrown magic tools were activated, froze, unable to comprehend the sudden turn of events.
If nothing had happened and the activation had failed, they would have just considered themselves unlucky and moved on.
However, the Itisiel escort’s single utterance had transformed the situation into one they hadn’t anticipated in the slightest.
As a result, everyone’s feet were rooted to their spot for a brief moment, and the Hero took another step forward.
“Ugh!”
Sevela, the first to regain her senses and sense the danger, leaped forward and sang.
“——-!”
The bard’s song, the moment it left her lips, shed the form of language and materialized as magic.
The process was completely different from ordinary magic, so it was free from the influence of the Mana Suppressor, and if things had gone according to plan, they would have been able to deal with the magic-sealed Hero much more easily.
They hadn’t expected it to go awry in such a ridiculous way, but even so:
Whether it was magic or spirits, all they had to do was strike before he could use them.
Sevela, expertly adapting to her suddenly enhanced physical abilities, thrust her spear towards the Hero’s left thigh.
How many had fallen to this attack that felt like it suddenly accelerated from the target’s point of view?
She was confident that at this distance, it was an unavoidable blow.
“What makes you think I’m so slow?!”
That is, until the giant sword swung at an unbelievable speed, the wind pressure sending her flying.
-Clang!
She couldn’t even scream.
At first, she doubted her eyes at the spinning world, and then she doubted everything.
In the midst of the impact, which was no different from being hit by a lump of iron, Sevela couldn’t help but think a million thoughts during the brief moment she flew back and crashed into the wall.
But the conclusion was simple.
A sword as big as a person was swung at her with tremendous speed, as if swatting away a bug.
That was all.
‘Magic… sword…?’
That’s impossible.
Weapons that have their weight nullified by magic lose the power that comes from their weight.
That sword is just an ordinary sword.
She could clearly tell that much, even with her mind reeling from the shock.
But… even if it was imbued with Aura, wasn’t that speed strange…?
“Cough…!”
She forced herself to her feet, ignoring her creaking joints, and looked at the Hero.
What came into view was the horrific sight of the envoy party being unilaterally beaten.
Furthermore, the Hero wasn’t even using magic or spirits, just swinging that piece of iron around, pummeling them.
“Get up, you bastards! You were so confident, but you’re worse than children!”
“Kaaagh!”
They were helpless.
Even though they were people who had honed their swordsmanship for years, they couldn’t block the random swings of the sword, and were thrown against the wall.
Far from blocking, they couldn’t even react, let alone figure out how to dodge, like they were facing a giant monster, rather than a human.
“Calling me a fraud, huh?! Why can’t you, who act all high and mighty, even beat a Hero who’s just been slacking off?! At this rate, the Empire will gobble you all up! Get up!!”
Despite swinging a sword no different from a lump of iron so recklessly, the Hero showed no signs of tiring, only rampaging more fiercely.
And in the face of the Hero’s frenzy and crazed cries, no one could stand against him.
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[KILL ALL THE HERETICS. BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD]
Hero! Play tennis with their bodies and my life is yours!
Thank you for the chapter, it was great
bro’s done with em