The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

12 – EP1. Dawn Breaking

“Get up, you brat.”

I grabbed the man in the black robe by the collar and lifted him up.

“This… this guy, a supposed hero… I never imagined he’d be such a powerful necromancer…”

“The black mage is one of you. I’m just someone who uses black magic.”

“Hah… You’re saying the one who created a corpse golem to trample us isn’t a black mage? That’s a ridiculous claim.”

I spoke as I watched the pile of rotting flesh turn into ashes.

“Well, not all priests use holy magic, you know.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“Enough, answer my question. Why did you attack me?”

“You, the hero, could have been a valuable ingredient. I thought that studying the body of a hero who had lost the holy sword would bring us closer to the truth. The Empire couldn’t believe that you had made a pact with the demons, but after witnessing this spectacle, they might even believe that you did.”

“That’s too much talk.”

I snapped my neck with a thud.

“So, you’re not from the Empire, just some rogue black mages causing trouble? Well, ingredients? Maybe, but your direction is all wrong.”

I recalled the dark magic left within me by the Demon Lord. If you really thought about it, a human with the Demon Lord’s dark magic was more valuable than a former hero.

“Well, it’s not my problem. What’s amazing is that those who can’t even use dark magic worse than me came to capture me.”

“…”

The man in the black robe bit his lip.

“Enough, lead the way to your hideout. If you don’t want to become a zombie, that is.”

Ugh, it was about time to send a pursuit party from the Empire. That Emperor, that annoying little raccoon, wouldn’t leave me alone.

I’m not afraid of dying, but I don’t want to be surpassed by that nobleman’s underlings.

Anyway, I followed the robed man into the deep forest, glancing back at the pond. The blood of the corpses was flowing in, making it turn red.

That pond would never return to its original state again.

As we entered the deep forest, there was a cave. It looked ominously dark.

Black mages like these always choose the creepiest places.

Inside the cave, it was so dark that nothing could be seen.

The man in the robe started to enter, and I followed him inside.

As we passed through the eerie darkness, we came across a massive door.

“Here, this is our base.”

“Ah, good job.”

“Grr! What the…?”

I swiftly snapped the guy’s neck and pushed open the door. He managed to make a stern face before he died.

I began to examine the door closely.

The door itself was just an ordinary wooden door, but it had engravings and carvings symbolizing demons, especially the Demon Lord. I knew that the Demon Lord was an object of worship for these black mages, but seeing these symbols on the door was a bit too much.

I placed my hand on the door. It felt like a structure that couldn’t be opened without handling dark magic.

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As I drew a reverse pentagram with dark magic, the statue of a black lion opened its mouth, and the door began to open.

Where, what could be inside?

I licked my lips with my tongue.

…

The fairy princess has arrived.

The news spread throughout the entire holy land, and the saint, who could be considered the owner of the holy land, greeted the fairy princess.

“Welcome, second star of the Tyrentus Kingdom. I am Beatrice, who holds the title of Saint of the Goddess Church.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Lena, the proud fairy princess of the humans.”

“I didn’t know the Fairy King would send his daughter as a member of the expeditionary force to defeat the Demon King. I heard that the king has great affection for the princess.”

“Don’t worry. I couldn’t find a suitable counterpart among the fairy warriors of my age.”

“Yes, I should thank the Fairy King.”

The blonde fairy began to twirl her hair.

“I would like to see the hero right away. Is it possible?”

“R-Right away? After you have rested…”

“No, the hero is not just someone to be taught, but someone we will fight alongside for a long time. It’s better to see him early on.”

“Yes, in that case…”

There was no reason to stop her from wanting to meet the hero early as a comrade.

The blonde fairy learned all the magic and met a black-haired boy lying exhausted.

“…He looks like a fairy….”

The boy said that and closed the book, trying to collapse but then stood up again.

“Oh, a real fairy?”

His black eyes widened and rounded.

“A-A real fairy?”

Lena quietly looked at the boy.

Then, she burst into laughter.

“That’s right. I’m Lena, the princess of Tyrentus and your teacher in archery. You’re the hero, right? Nice to meet you, human.”

“Ah, yes, yes! I’m Angel.”

Angel looked at Lena with excitement. Fairies were a beautiful and mysterious race that performed all sorts of magic in fairy tales.

Even in the current exhausted state, Angel still remembered the innocence of his childhood.

“Becoming companions with a fairy, perhaps it’s the first good thing to happen to me since becoming a hero,” Lena said with a smile.

“Yeah. I came to see the face of the person I’ll be comrades with from now on, and you’re cuter than I expected. Well then, now that I’ve seen your face, I’ll be on my way,” Lena added before turning to leave.

Ainzell watched Lena’s retreating figure until the very end. Suddenly, the fairy who had been following Lena came closer and firmly grabbed Ainzell’s arm, saying, “Human, you’d better not dare to be disrespectful to the princess. Just because you’re a hero doesn’t mean you can disregard her noble lineage. Do you understand?”

Ainzell hardened their face and nodded casually, “Understood. It seems you understand things quite well. It would be best for you to continue to grasp the situation like this in the future. If you behave in an inappropriate manner, even being a hero won’t save you.”

With that, the fairy spoke and left. Ainzell watched their departing figure with a different, surprised emotion than when Lena left. The grip on their arm tightened.

As dawn broke, a maid employed at a holy shrine opened the door for cleaning. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and loud noises erupted. Countless alarm spells and defensive enchantments were cast.

In a situation that was akin to being on high alert against an enemy, the hero jumped out of bed, gripping their sword tightly, and breathed heavily, saying, “What’s, what’s going on?”

The hero stared at the maid with wide eyes. The maid, trembling, said, “I, I’m sorry. I came to clean, but…”

Ainzell sheathed their sword, maintaining a certain distance and tensing their muscles all over their body. “…I’ll take care of the cleaning, so please leave for now.”

“Yes, yes.” The maid quickly closed the door and left, and the hero sat back on the bed with a puzzled expression. “What kind of commotion is this…?”

Whenever someone approached, it had become a habit to be suspicious first. They thought they might be going crazy. The numerous defensive enchantments that covered the room were created by Ainzell using all the magic they had learned from the magic instructor Fairea.

This was what they got for trying to learn magic.

In frustration, the hero lay back on the bed, covering themselves with the blanket, muttering, “Why am I doing this for some extravagant lifestyle?”

Gradually, he succumbed to intense hesitation.

But as time passed, he got back on his feet. From now on, he decided to learn archery alongside his other pursuits.

What could learning archery from a fairy entail?

His original self had faced formidable individuals he wouldn’t dare confront, but the fairy was a first for him.

Then, the fairy that had approached him, seemingly threatening, came to mind.

He had always thought of fairies as kind beings that assisted good people in fairy tales.

The moment he felt his arm being grabbed, he realized that fairies were living creatures in the real world too. They could get angry and dislike him, just like anyone else.

He playfully grazed his arm that was still held captive. It still felt tingly.

“So, how much do you know about archery?”

Lena spoke while casually wandering around Ainzel.

Ainzel stared at Lena with a puzzled expression.

“…A means to strike the enemy from a distance…?”

Lena burst into laughter.

“Yes, archery is indeed a means to strike the enemy from a distance. But something is missing. Archery is a ‘means to strike the enemy from a distance without them knowing.'”

She flicked the bowstring lightly.

“If you only think about power and long-range strikes, archery is not a good choice. Magic is a much better option. The advantage of archery is that there’s no delay when I attack.”

Ainzel tightly gripped the bow in his hand.

“Magic or miracles require time to activate. But with a bow, you just grab an arrow, nock it, and release. That’s it. And that has a significant advantage.”

“When the enemy can’t detect my attacks, I can snipe them from a distance or choose when to attack head-on. That way, I can secure the initiative.”

Lena said with a smile.

“You said you’re learning magic, right? Well, that’s good. Before you concoct your magic spells, a few shots to intimidate them will make even demons quiver, right?”

“Ah… yes.”

He hadn’t thought of that. He had learned various combat styles but never considered integrating them. It seemed like a brilliant idea.

“Alright, enough chit-chat. We’re getting into the real stuff now. But before we start, take a look around here.”

Ainzel turned his head towards Lena.

Whack! A fist was coming his way.