The Sword Master’s Son-in-Law

– The Hero’s Companion (2)

After the Hero’s announcement.

Ameri finally grasped the truth.

“Athers was the Hero all along.”

The person she was supposed to eliminate was the first friend she ever made.

She was in disarray.

Even so—

“I must carry out my mission.”

Ameri paused to contemplate.

Athers.

He was strong.

Perhaps even stronger than herself.

However, it was something one could only know by fighting.

Ameri couldn’t be certain that she could prevail.

Therefore, she decided that assassinating the Hero was beyond her capabilities.

She recalled the words of her father.

‘If you cannot eliminate the Hero, then at least gather information from his side.’

Her father’s command to gather information if she couldn’t eliminate him.

Recalling that order.

She felt the unease in her heart begin to subside without her realizing.

“What a relief….”

Amaryllis, without realizing it, breathed out a sigh of relief.

The unintentional utterance made Amaryllis pause-.

“Huh, why did I just say that?”

A faint question took root in her mind.

*

I had stood before so many people for the very first time.

It was a first for me, and an experience I never wished to repeat.

Descending from that public platform,

I found myself in what appeared to be a lounge.

There, I let out a deep sigh, sinking into a seat as if my legs had given way.

‘Being a celebrity isn’t easy, is it?’

Maintaining composure amidst that kind of crowd…

It was no small feat.

Though, of course, the cheers directed at me felt strangely pleasing.

As I rested, Letty approached.

The very moment Letty was about to speak,

She suddenly dropped to her knees and began to pray.

I recalled that this had happened once before.

Sudden prayer.

It was undoubtedly a prophecy.

Letty prayed for a long while.

Finally, she ceased her prayers, and with a grim expression, she spoke to me.

“A prophecy has arrived.”

“What kind of prophecy?”

“It’s… it seems you need to start moving soon.”

“Move?”

“Lady Rhea has given us the Mine’s location.”

Mine-.

‘Could it be?’

The b*stard who had run away?

Or the alchemist I had missed?

Or perhaps something entirely new-.

Regardless, there was no need to dwell on such thoughts.

“Understood.”

No matter what it was, the Mine had to be defeated.

Whether it was the one I had seen before, or someone new.

After all, I was the Hero.

Letty, hand on her chin, pondered for a moment before speaking.

“Then… it would be best to issue a proclamation, I think.”

“A proclamation?”

“Yes. Of course, I’d love to move with just you, Hero-nim… but we still need to gather the party.”

“The party… how are you planning to assemble it?”

“Well, I’m envisioning a total of four, including you and me, Hero-nim.”

Four, eh…?

Suddenly, I recalled the hero party that Asia told me about.

‘The hero who eventually defeats the Demon King is always accompanied by three companions, you know? The Hero, the Saintess, the Swordsman, and the Mage! Like that!’

If that’s the case, the companions we’ll be recruiting through the notice are-.

“We’ll be recruiting a swordsman and a mage then, right?”

“Yes!”

Come to think of it… thinking about Asia, it occurred to me that her words had become reality.

Before, Asia wondered if my strength meant I should join the hero’s party.

And just as she said, I’ve joined the hero’s party.

Only, not as the swordsman, but as the hero.

Anyway.

“I hope the people who become our companions are good people.”

I’d occasionally seen it in novels.

A traitor in the hero’s party.

Cases where the adventure becomes even more difficult because of that traitor.

Just thinking about such a case makes my chest feel tight.

Like I’d swallowed a sweet potato whole.

“Don’t worry about that!”

“Why?”

“Because… it’s destiny that the hero gains good companions, isn’t it?”

Reti’s words were practically saying she couldn’t guarantee anything.

But-.

‘For some reason, I have a feeling that only good people will gather.’

Was it thanks to what Reti had said?

I, too, had a premonition that I would meet good companions.

*

A village near the capital of the Heivish Kingdom.

In an inn there, a woman was fighting back tears.

Silver hair and a beautiful face.

Men had tried to approach her and strike up a conversation,

but they sensed an aura that made her unapproachable, and gave up without even trying.

The woman who was stealing the men’s gaze.

Her true identity was Asia.

‘Ah… I think I came here for nothing…’

She had heard some news and cried for a long time.

The news that brought tears to Asia’s eyes.

It was-.

‘Arthas-ssi and the Saintess… an item, you say.’

The day she heard the news,

Asia wept without restraint.

And she wondered,

Was her betrothal now simply null and void?

Why was it the Saintess, and not her, at Arthas’s side?

She longed to ask Arthas himself.

But—

“Haa… If I went and he told me I was just getting in the way…”

Frankly, she couldn’t fathom what she’d do.

Asia even entertained this thought:

‘If only… I’d just left the First Prince alone….’

Then she could have clung to the engagement as a reason to stay near.

It was Arthas, of all people, who had brought about the First Prince’s downfall.

Thus, even that flimsy excuse had vanished.

Except, perhaps, for this:

‘He said he’d wait for me until my coming-of-age ceremony…!’

A promise, lightly made, long ago.

And, even before that:

‘I’d hoped he would listen to the story of my mother.’

Why her father, Count Messiah, was so skeptical about the engagement.

And why she reacted as she did to Arthas calling her a ‘potential liability’ – she wanted to explain it all.

Asia lingered in a village near the capital, lost in hesitation.

Then, a certain piece of news reached her ears.

It was while Asia was having a meal at an inn, as was her custom.

“Say, they’re saying the Hero is looking for companions, that he’s embarking on a journey?”

The Hero’s companion.

In that instant, a spark ignited in Asia’s mind.

‘That’s it! As a companion…!’

She decided that would be enough to remain by his side.

‘For now, I’ll just stay close and have a conversation.’

The possibility that things wouldn’t unfold as she wished existed.

But—

At least she wouldn’t hear that she was in the way, Asia reasoned.

She immediately set off toward the capital of the Heivys Holy Kingdom.

To become one of the Hero’s companions.

*

Amerie, having realized the Hero was none other than Arthas,

considered at length.

How she could stay by Arthas’s side and glean information.

The first method… was to linger nearby, pretending to be a friend.

But that seemed to have its limits.

Then the second method would be lovers.

Somehow, the thought of that method irritated Ameri.

‘The Holy Woman and Arthas were lovers?’

She wasn’t sure why, but the idea of those two as lovers,

irritated her, Ameri thought.

For now, she’d put that method aside.

The last method Ameri could think of was.

Comrades.

Moving together, gathering information.

The only thing that worried her was the Holy Woman’s prophecy, but.

‘It’ll be fine. I’m an anomaly.’

Ameri was certain that even Leah wouldn’t recognize her true nature.

She decided to execute this last method.

“It just so happens they’re recruiting mage comrades.”

She planned to apply there.

‘I can’t guarantee it, but it’s definitely possible.’

Ameri knew about human mages.

They weren’t ones to covet honor.

Academic fervor for magic.

That was all that mattered to those kindred spirits.

And it was even more pronounced the higher a mage ranked.

That was why she judged that no high-ranking mage would be drawn to recruitment based purely on prestige.

“If it’s me, it’ll definitely be possible.”

Therefore, she decided that someone of her caliber would be more than qualified.

However-.

‘What if it doesn’t work…?’

She couldn’t help but feel a slight unease.

*

Lettie, wearing a radiant smile, came to find me.

Both hands full of bundles of documents.

“Hero! So many people have applied!!!”

Despite her overjoyed appearance,

I was a little taken aback.

The bundles of documents Lettie held in her hands.

The sheer volume was staggering.

Bundles of documents.

Those are probably…

“Things I have to check…?”

“Huh? Yes! These are people who want to be your companions, Hero. You have to choose!”

Reti spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

I barely managed to hold back a sigh.

Honestly –.

‘I don’t want to work…’

I’d never handled paperwork before in my life.

When I lived with the old man, I couldn’t even read.

Even when I was at the Messiah Count’s estate, I was just a guest, nothing more.

The Count of Messiah wouldn’t have had any reason to entrust me with administrative tasks in the first place.

So, this was practically the first work-like thing I’d ever done.

I took the stack of documents from Reti and

examined them one by one.

“I just pick the people I want from here?”

“Yes! And I marked the especially talented applicants for you!”

I spent quite a while flipping through the files, reviewing the applicants.

Then, a star-shaped mark caught my eye.

This must be the sign Reti mentioned for the exceptional ones.

My gaze naturally moved to the name.

“Huh…?”

The file of an outstanding applicant.

There, a familiar name was written.

“Is something wrong?”

“No… it’s just….”

Asia Messiah.

Her name was right there.

Even our ages matched; it had to be the Asia I knew.

Considering her last name was Messiah, I was already almost certain.

But why would she apply here?

“Hmm….”

I paused, contemplating.

What to do.

After considering for a while,

‘I suppose… I should pick Asia, shouldn’t I?’

I knew Asia, knew she was virtuous.

She wouldn’t betray me.

She was a reliable asset.

“This person seems like a good fit for the position of examiner.”

Reti took Asia’s file and reviewed it briefly.

Then –.

She glared at me, eyes narrowed into slits.

“This one is…!”

A bit of a parachute hire, I felt.

I said, as if to excuse myself,

“Ahem! Still, they *are* undeniably qualified….”

“Well… I suppose so. That’s why I flagged them… But perhaps you should review more candidates… Ah, never mind.”

Letty conceded, resigned.

And then, the next.

Turning to the wizard applicants.

Another file marked with a star.

And a familiar name jumped out.

Letty saw it and beamed.

“Ah! *This* one is definitely top-notch! A high-level, Fifth Circle wizard has applied, you know!”

Fifth Circle, huh…

She seemed to be more than that, though.

In any case, that undeniably qualified wizard Letty spoke of…

That talent was Amelia.

“For the wizard position, this one is absolutely the best choice.”

“Y-yeah…”

Why was it, though?

The companions gathered for this journey.

Every single one of them turned out to be someone I already knew.