chapter 24
24. Welcome to Hell
Citizens were seduced by the instigation of the Holy Sword, and the golden young man, who stood as the representative of the powerful, readily acknowledged the hero, and the hero’s actions were put to rest. .
Isn’t that what I did? Anyway, the hero who brought me to the ceremony was bad. Moreover, the holy sword passed the responsibility to the saint, so the hero deflected the arrow of anger.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the hero couldn’t go on as if nothing had happened. In any case, the announcement ceremony attended by leading giants ended in vain.
“Since we can’t hold the hero accountable, should we just move on?”
“If the form of punishment is difficult, how about entrusting it in the form of a request?”
“What about you?”
“This is Cale, the head of the Adventurer’s Guild Hairer.”
In the end, the method is different, but the hero is in charge of taking care of what he has done. And, behind that request, there was a demonic sword that tipped off the guild branch manager.
[Are you quite resourceful?]
[Well, I’ve lived quite a bit. Of course, not as much as you.]
[What?]
[hahahaha, what are you so angry about? I was talking about resourcefulness.]
The hero’s job was to heal the wounded in the disturbance. Thanks to that mighty divine power, the hero was able to take on the role of dozens of priests by himself.
Well, it would be convenient to collect the injured and sprinkle holy power all over them, but healing wasn’t such a convenient power, so even a warrior needed a considerable amount of time.
This is because we had to classify those who suffered damage from demonic damage, those who were injured in collisions with others, and those who were not injured but were in a state of mental panic, and take appropriate measures for each.
[By the way, Holy Sword, I have a question.]
[Yes, what is it?]
While the hero was busy healing patients, I sent a mental wave so that only the Holy Sword could hear it.
[You don’t have an image of being kind, noble, and only telling the truth, right? At least that’s what’s recorded in the history books.]
[It’s a bit annoying afterward, but it’s true.]
[How is that? This won’t be the first time you’ve spread lies to defend the hero.]
To the Holy Sword, a hero is special. This is because he is the only owner of hers in an era. However, there is no superiority or inferiority among the warriors she serves.
Even before Cream, the Holy Sword must have spread outrageous lies to defend the other warriors. She doesn’t think all those lies would have worked.
The holy sword answered in a rather cynical tone.
[Because in the past, the power of religion was much stronger than it is now.]
[What? Enough even now… Ah.]
As I habitually asked, I immediately realized the true meaning of her words and exclaimed. Of course, even now, many countries, including the Empire, notice the Great War and the Church, and the power of religion is still strong.
Compared to hundreds of years ago, when gods directly exercised their power on earth and punished those who insulted them, it is true that their power has definitely weakened. Even now, it’s just that I can’t feel it because it’s so strong.
[Hey, no matter how scary this is, it’s a bit scary.]
Isn’t it true that the religious world in the past had the power to manipulate even the world’s history? And the Holy Sword has been benefiting from her evil forces so far.
[It was an inevitable choice for the hero.]
[Very good.]
Is that a polar line? No matter how you look at it, it’s hypocrisy. But this time I didn’t say anything more because I was helped too. Since when did I have such a sense of justice?
The warrior who healed the last patient soon stood up. Even though he used his holy power to the fullest, his small face showed no sign of fatigue.
“It is over.”
[Good job, warrior.]
After finishing all the work, the warrior lightly stretched. Since she was still wearing sacramental clothes, her white skin was revealed in her defenseless movements.
However, my focus was not on the body, but on the face. It seemed that she was not conscious of herself, but the slight smile on her lips was very nice to see.
*
[Wait, come to think of it, that was also treated as a request, right?]
On the way back to the inn room. The hero’s steps stopped at the question I asked without much thought.
The hero’s taking care of the patients was just an afterthought for what he had done, but the actions of a tycoon like a hero are given meaning, no matter how trivial.
That’s why I chose the form of request instead of service or repentance. This was a highly political gesture to convey that the warriors denied their own sins, but did not deny the current system.
To be honest, I don’t know the details because I borrowed the collective intelligence of the soul sleeping inside me. Maybe that’s right
Without further ado, returning to the original subject, the hero completed his request. If so, what grade will the request be judged on?
“Then…”
[Yes. Now, is the silver level enough?]
A very small number of believers will be able to exercise the power of God by downloading ‘stigmata’ from God. However, such powers are destructive, usually in the form of fire, cold, and lightning.
The divine power of the source unaffected by any god. There were very few people who could handle the healing power that appeared in the form of light. Because only those with pure souls could awaken the light.
[Let’s go!]
The size of faith and the discipline of mind were virtues in completely different realms. Accordingly, even among the powerful clerics, those who could handle even the power of healing were extremely rare.
Will there be five decent healers in such a small city the size of Hair? In such a situation, the hero alone performed a miracle worthy of dozens of healers.
[That’s why, if you convert this into a quest, it’s at least a gold grade!]
“Are you the hero again…”
As soon as he saw us, Cale let out a deep sigh. There is definitely a counter that welcomes adventurers, but I felt sorry for ignoring it and breaking into the branch manager’s office.
However, it is difficult to have a proper conversation with the counter staff because they are so difficult with us. When I make fun of this branch manager, the reaction is the most fun.
In fact, that is the biggest reason.
“I feel like I’m going to hear some kind of insult that can’t be washed away. So, what are you doing this time?”
[Didn’t you get all the points to upgrade?]
“Yes? How long have you been enrolled in the adventurer’s guild… Wait a minute.”
At first, Cale responded as if he had heard some absurd sounds, then went through the documents, but his hands slowly slowed down. Soon, he raised his head in surprise.
[Eh? Really?]
I was even more surprised when I saw that. I came here just in case, but is it real?
“Yes. It’s hard to believe, but you’ve met the promotion requirements. Both the number of quests completed and activity points.”
I briefly reviewed the hero’s actions over the past few days.
Surely, while waiting for the announcement ceremony, the hero received all sorts of requests and finished them off. Most of them were missions to wipe out dangerous enemies, but of course none of them were against the hero.
As such, there are many small quests resolved, but it is said that the destruction of the Dark Church’s stronghold and the large-scale healing of the injured, these two achievements, made it possible to advance unusually quickly.
[But it is!]
“······No, if the hero goes up to a higher level, wouldn’t it be good for the swordsman too?”
[That’s right, but…! I struggled for months trying to get promoted to silver! It’s so unfair!]
[It’s ugly.]
The Holy Sword said it calmly, but that’s because he’s never been human. Although my identity now is a sword, I was once a human. Also an adventurer.
Perhaps I’m higher than the current guild leader if I’m to judge from time to time? That’s how I’ve been to all sorts of places. In particular, in the early days when they couldn’t adapt to the different world, they had to go through all sorts of hardships.
[They gave me a subjugation of an orc village as a promotion request when I was barely learning a low-level martial art!… No, wait.]
I was furious with my ignorance, but I soon realized one thing I had missed and calmed down.
[So, what is the promotion request?]
Of course, it was annoying to fill the promotion conditions, but that was a problem that could be solved with labor. It was the adventurer’s guild’s promotion request that made real people go crazy.
Under the name of making up for weaknesses, it is the best thing to do with an adventurer, and it is a request full of malice. Like asking the priest of the sun to explore the ice labyrinth and come back.
······But does this hero have any weaknesses?
“Ah. As it is, the hero had a lot of interest in us from above.”
[Are you openly confessing to the background investigation? That’s a novel method of suicide.]
“No, I don’t mean that. Please don’t misunderstand. It is a story that we respect the hero’s specialness and will be considerate as long as the rules are not broken.”
[Hmm, right?]
Maybe it’s because he’s been seeing us so often lately, he’s relaxed quite a bit, but it’s kind of funny how he turns around when I shoot him.
[Don’t bully the poor old man.]
Do you think you’re bothering Cale? Cale, who quickly finished her self-defense as if she was rapping and panted, became hurt by the Sacred Sword’s relentless words.
Of course, I didn’t care about the wounds of others, so I just ignored it and urged my words.
[Don’t spin around, so what’s the conclusion?]
“You don’t have to wait. The hero’s promotion request has already been prepared.”
What Cale took out soon was a high-quality document that was definitely different from the others. Fluttering it, Cale continued her words.
“Demonic Sword-sama was once an adventurer, so you know it well, but our Adventurers Guild makes it a rule to supplement each adventurer’s weaknesses through promotion requests.”
[Yeah, that sh*t.]
“·······Kuhm. Anyway, we read the report of the quest that the hero-nim completed.”
Originally, for a request of a certain scale, it was basic to complete it and then submit it to the Adventurer’s Guild. Of course, the warrior did not.
When I was an adventurer, it was common for me to get rejected simply by writing a report in a hurry. The taste of power is so sweet.
[You mean you can know the hero’s weakness?]
“hahahaha. Of course, we can’t dare to talk about the warrior’s power. Still, wouldn’t it be a bit different from an adventurer’s point of view?”
[That’s kind of interesting. Talk about it.]
Keil tore off a page from the document and handed it to us. The hero read it slowly. What was written in that document was the request for the promotion of this hero.
“As a result of putting together the contents of the report, the hero has a strong tendency to solve all problems with his own skills because he is overly talented.”
[This crazy bastard, no way…?]
The nightmare of the real world is about to be revived. Cale’s face overlapped with that of the professor. The professor moved his old, wrinkled lips.
“Yes. The theme of this quest is ‘cooperation’.”
No, come to your senses. I shook my head. The person in front of me right now is not the professor, but Cale. He’s old, but not that old, and he’s not as irresistible as the Professor!
[f*ck me!]
“I will. It’s fun, you see.”
But I knew one thing. The choice is not in me, and the group task… No, it’s not me to carry out the request.
“Mmm. I will definitely go over it. As the subject of this quest is collaboration. You will have to observe some restrictions. The important thing in this promotion is, well, it may be a bit rude, but it’s not the hero’s ability, but the hero’s cooperative spirit.”
“I don’t care.”
So the hero opened the gates of hell with his own hands.