I Was Kicked Out of the Hero’s Party Even Though I’m His Girlfriend

Morning.

Kiera was staring out the window.

In the distant garden, regular adventurer parties were arriving one by one.

Currently, House Toledo was ambitiously preparing for an eastern expedition with Hero Kiera at the forefront.

The plan was to showcase House Toledo’s prestige by reclaiming parts of the eastern continent that had been occupied by the Demon Lord’s Army.

An enormous investment had gone into it.

Dozens of regular adventurer parties were hired to support Kiera in battle, and hundreds of personnel were mobilized for their convenience.

Needless to say, a tremendous amount of resources would be invested as well.

It was no exaggeration to say that House Toledo had bet everything on this eastern expedition.

However, Kiera, whom the Duke trusted, was overwhelmed with worry…

Today too, she covered her face with her hands and sighed.

It was pitch black.

She couldn’t see ahead.

A few minutes later, Lucy entered the room and relayed Duke Toledo’s message.

It was a proposal to go hunting together in the afternoon.

“Tell him I’m sick.”

“Are you going to avoid it again today? The Duke seems to be getting irritated since you keep not showing up.”

She had lost count of how many times she had refused.

The next day.

Duke Toledo proposed hunting monsters together with the newly recruited civilian parties to foster teamwork and unity.

But Kiera refused that as well.

Without the Hero’s Power, there was nothing she could do.

She avoided battles and only attended social gatherings.

Because of this, misunderstandings began to grow.

Rumors spread within the Duke’s household that Kiera was arrogant.

They said she refused even the Duke’s requests if she wasn’t in the mood and did whatever she wanted.

There were also widespread criticisms that she enjoyed going out to social venues every night.

Additionally, Duke Toledo was very displeased with Kiera’s attitude of constantly refusing his proposals.

However, each time his eldest son Josef would persuade his father, showing the fruits of his friendly relationship with Kiera.

Josef, who had fallen for her one-sidedly, worked hard to defend and protect Kiera.

Thanks to this, the public sentiment within the Duke’s household was able to subside somewhat.

And several days later.

Kiera finally departed for the eastern expedition with House Toledo.

After the grand departure ceremony, around five hundred people left the city.

Josef, who was riding his horse alongside Kiera at the head of the procession, said:

“Our first destination is Nofha, the capital of the Kingdom of Basilite. We plan to stop there for supplies before continuing our journey.”

“I see. Understood.”

Kiera replied weakly while pulling her hood down firmly.

As her black hair had grown longer recently, she always wore a hood wherever she went.

‘I’m still the Hero. The Hero’s Power will definitely return.’

Kiera bit her lip with an anxious expression.

Meanwhile, the horse she was riding moved forward leisurely.

Many people followed behind them.

Nofha, capital of the Kingdom of Basilite.

As they passed through the city gates, well-paved roads and an orderly cityscape laid out like a chessboard spread before them.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve smelled a big city~ sniff exhale~”

Maru smiled brightly while looking around.

The first thing that caught his eye was a golden statue of a female hero.

It was quite large at 5 meters tall.

Surprisingly, it was made entirely of pure gold and was erected in the plaza in front of the city gates for many to see.

He unconsciously approached and looked up at it.

“That statue’s face seems familiar somehow.”

“You’ve probably seen it a lot in history books.”

Edward said proudly.

“This is a statue commemorating Lady Alexia, who saved our kingdom from a violent dragon 25 years ago. At the time, our kingdom was almost completely devastated with hardly any area left unscathed, and when the country was on the brink of ruin, this lady and her companions saved us when she was just 18 years old. They were true heroes.”

“She defeated a dragon at just eighteen? That’s incredible. I’ve never heard this story before.”

“Isn’t it amazing? I wish I could become as strong as Lady Alexia.”

The two chatted for a while in front of the golden statue.

“Well, shall we head to the palace now? I’m eager to introduce you to my father and mother.”

“Wait a moment.”

Maru composed himself in front of the golden statue, then clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

“(murmuring)”

“What did you wish for?”

“Nothing special. I just have this habit of praying whenever I see heroes.”

“That’s a good habit! I want to catch it too!”

They headed straight for the palace.

And once inside, they were able to meet the King and Queen without issue.

“At least this time it didn’t cost any money. But just looking at you makes it hard to breathe.”

The King treated the returned prince coldly.

“How did you escape? No, never mind. Young man standing beside him. You tell me. Did you save the prince?”

Maru found himself in a dilemma.

‘Seems like Edward gets even worse disrespect than I thought.’

He glanced at Edward.

Oblivious to the atmosphere, he was just staring at the King with a satisfied expression.

He seemed completely clueless.

He was just an idiot.

‘Ah, what should I do.’

Maru cleared his throat and answered loudly.

“I… have no talent for martial arts. Rather, I survived thanks to the prince.”

The surrounding courtiers tilted their heads.

“The prince saved you? That can’t be right?”

“If he really subjugated the bandits, the sun would rise in the west.”

Amid the murmuring, Edward poked Maru’s side and winked.

“The plan is I take the credit and you take the treasure? Hehe, thanks.”

Seeing that innocent face, Maru felt immediate regret, but having already spoken, he decided to follow through.

“Prince Edward’s achievements were truly remarkable. He single-handedly defeated ten bandits at once.”

“Is that true?”

The people around wore dubious expressions, finding it hard to believe.

The King adjusted his posture after observing the courtiers’ reactions.

Though cold at first, it seemed he was secretly pleased to hear of his son’s accomplishments.

The King gestured.

“Tell us in detail how the prince defeated the bandits.”

Maru became a jester in front of many people.

Moving his hands and feet energetically, he embellished Edward’s non-existent exploits, causing people to gasp in amazement.

“Did the prince really do that?”

Everyone was skeptical, but with a witness present, they had no choice but to believe it.

“After defeating the bandit leader, the prince said to me: ‘My friend! We have a hopeful future ahead! I’ve completely eliminated the bandits, so stand up and walk forward with strength!’ That’s what he said!”

“Ohhh!”

He received applause from the courtiers.

When the story ended, the King and Queen’s faces were filled with satisfaction.

Edward was quite shameless too, smiling and waving in response to people’s enthusiastic reactions even though he knew it was all lies.

“Hahaha, this is just who I am!”

At any rate, the meeting with the King ended on a good note for everyone.

Afterwards, Maru was assigned a nice room and took a rest.

“Ah… what am I doing?”

He rolled around in bed for a while.

Then he suddenly got up, poured water into an empty cup, and prayed to the god.

“Oh god, can you hear my voice? Oh god. Oh god?”

No response.

“Ignoring me again.”

Disappointing, but he’d try again later.

He had something to ask about.

Why his chest hurt when they were almost done dealing with the bandits.

While lost in thought about that moment, there was suddenly a knock.

It was the elderly head servant.

“His Majesty requests your presence.”

Suddenly?

“I’ll go right away.”

Though unsure of the reason, he had to meet the King since he was summoned.

He tidied his clothes and went out.

The King was waiting in a small reception room located in a secluded spot, rather than the main reception hall.

“I called you because I wanted to thank you.”

The King warmly clasped Maru’s right hand with his wrinkled hands.

“Thank you for making my foolish son something to be proud of.”

Maru opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“…You knew all along?”

“Of course I did. I raised that child, how could I not know? Him clearing out bandits? That would make a cow laugh.”

“Please forgive me for telling lies to Your Majesty who is as high as the heavens.”

“The bandits were eliminated, the prince is praised by the people, and everyone benefits – why would I punish you?”

The King smiled contentedly.

“However, there is one thing I want to ask. Did Edward request this? I really want to hear the truth about this.”

Maru answered immediately.

“I decided it on my own. I swear the prince didn’t request it. Before coming here, I heard rumors about the prince and felt pity, so that’s why I did it.”

“Good. That’s a relief. If Edward had pressured you, I would have scolded that child. But since he didn’t, that’s a great relief.”

When he heard about him from Edward, he thought the King was just strict and frightening, but it turned out he was a father who loved his son more than anyone.

The King released the hand he had been holding and picked up a scroll from the table.

“Would you like to make a deal with me? I think you would carry it out well.”

He held out the scroll to Maru.

When he received and opened it, it was an appointment letter.

‘Royal Administrative Officer Appointment Letter’

Maru looked at the King.

The King was drinking a beverage made with apples, honey, and vinegar.

“I think you’ve given me the wrong document.”

“You’ve been promoted as of today. Congratulations.”

“Are you really appointing me as an administrative officer? Wait a moment. What did you see in me?”

“Acting ability.”

“I need to leave.”

“I won’t keep you long. Thanks to your help, I hope the prince’s authority will be restored and respected. If you carry out your duties well, I’ll give you a plot of land from my direct territory so you can settle here.”

“Land, that’s nice. But I’m not attached to land.”

“Then what more do you want? Tell me what you desire.”

“Land.”

“Didn’t you just say you weren’t attached to it?”

“Thinking about it again, multi seems good too. It would be an achievement to boast about to mother.”

“You have parents? A commoner would be happy to own land. What does ‘multi’ mean?”

“It means nothing special. One month. I’ll stay with you for exactly one month.”

“Six months.”

“Two months.”

“Five months.”

Such negotiations went back and forth, and the King asked him to ‘just do it like you showed us.’

In other words, Maru was to pretend to be an administrative officer with no martial arts skills and make it appear as though the prince had eliminated any monsters or bandits.

“Let this matter be known only to me, you, and Edward. The fewer people who know a secret, the better. You must keep absolute silence about this even to the Queen and Princess.”

“I don’t trust people these days. I’d like you to write up a proper agreement.”

“You make a bold proposal to me.”

“I was raised that way.”

And so from the next day, Maru began taking Edward along and clearing out every bandit hideout they could find around the royal capital.