Evading the Hero’s Party with Full Effort

Chapter 13

Ch.13 To think of your master like that… You’ve really grown up.

Scarlet’s footsteps toward her hometown are light.

Her parents, her childish younger brother, and the neighbors.

Though it’s a remote village far from the Imperial capital, it’s the most precious place to her.

Walking along the familiar mountain path, she sinks into reminiscence.

‘Just over this hill now.’

Returning to her hometown after a long absence.

‘Has it been five years?’

She traces through the letters sent by her family.

The news that her father recently injured his back.

Her mother’s worried greetings, and the announcement that her younger brother Matthew became engaged to Jeanne from the same village.

Small, trivial things—but knowing how her family is doing makes them incredibly precious to her.

Had it not been for her family’s letters during the harsh battlefield, her spirit might have broken.

As she walked, catching sight of the village below the hill, waves of nostalgia and strange excitement surged within her.

‘Everyone will be so surprised when they see I’ve come back.’

She had deliberately sent a letter saying she’d stop by the capital festival before returning home, just to see her family’s astonished faces.

She wanted to appear unexpectedly and surprise everyone.

Imagining her family and villagers’ shocked expressions, she ran toward the village.

Passing the familiar signpost, Scarlet reached the village entrance.

She ran along the path she had walked since childhood.

—Tap tap tap.

At the end of the familiar alley stood a shabby house.

Though houses made of wooden planks like this are rare in big cities…

Seeing the house filled with childhood memories, her heart ached.

The house had changed slightly since Scarlet left.

A large statue she’d never seen before stood in front of the house.

‘What’s that?’

Up close, the bronze statue—was it her imagination?—somehow resembled herself.

‘Huh? When did this appear?’

Puzzled, she examined the base of the statue.

“Ugh…!”

Reading the inscription on the statue, Scarlet’s face flushed red.

Then she felt embarrassed and awkward.

‘Who… did such a strange thing?’

Scarlet couldn’t possibly know.

When she became a Hero and set off on her journey,

The Emperor of the Empire had sent this to commemorate her.

Meaning this statue of Scarlet had been guarding this place for roughly four years…

While she clutched her burning face,

“Scarlet, is that you?”

At the familiar voice, Scarlet turned her head… and her chest tightened.

“Mom!”

Scarlet threw herself into her mother’s arms.

“Oh, my baby! Everyone, come out! Scarlet’s back! Everyone, come out and see!”

The surroundings became noisy.

“Sis?! Wow! You said you’d stop by the capital first?!”

“Villagers! Scarlet’s returned!”

At her mother’s shout, people began emerging one by one.

“Really?! I heard you defeated the Demon King!”

“If you’re coming, at least give us a heads-up! We were planning to throw you a party!”

“Whoosh! Thanks to you, our village got complete tax exemption!”

‘When did so many people gather?’

Hearing the many cheers from behind, Scarlet’s ears turned red.

‘What? Did everyone in the village see this… eyesore?’

The statue modeled after her.

Honestly, seeing it made her feel deeply embarrassed.

Anyone would feel utterly mortified to find a statue resembling themselves standing right in front of their house.

Of course, since Scarlet is the Hero who saved the world, everyone else would think it perfectly appropriate—but to her, it felt unavoidably awkward.

Moreover, the statue’s faint, serene smile seemed to be mocking her, as if enjoying her embarrassment.

Thus, her emotional homecoming was utterly ruined by that faintly smiling statue.

After the commotion subsided, Scarlet entered the house.

Unlike the shabby exterior, the interior was…

“What? Why did everything change so much?”

The shelves and sofa she remembered from her childhood had all been replaced with luxurious furnishings.

To Scarlet’s question, her younger brother replied,

“Oh? That? Right after you left, the Baron and his wife came and replaced everything.”

Nobles…

Scarlet hadn’t had good relations with nobles on the battlefield.

Outwardly pretending to work hard, but secretly calculating support based on cold self-interest—it was hard to view them kindly.

In contrast, my benefactor was truly remarkable.

After defeating the Demon King, you may forget me.

I fear that if you succeed and my name becomes known, my deeds will spread throughout the world. I acted solely for humanity and for you—please do not seek to reveal my name.

Scarlet had met him several times but never learned his name.

A humble benefactor who avoided drawing attention to his aid.

He donated enormous sums of money and, when soldiers were lacking, hired mercenary troops to help.

Unlike him, nobles were stingy to the extreme when sending troops or offering donations.

Later, she learned they feared other nobles might attack them if they sent too many soldiers—how absurd she found that.

Thus, Scarlet felt burdened knowing the Baron had bought these items for them.

Nobles are inherently cunning.

“Scarlet, wait just a moment. Mom will make you some delicious stew and your favorite French toast.”

French toast?

As her mother bustled toward the kitchen, she said to Matthew,

“Matthew, go fetch Jeanne and your father.”

To her words, Matthew grumbled as he stood up.

“Aw, I wanted to chat with my sister about all sorts of things.”

When Scarlet left, Matthew was 13 years old.

Seeing his once adorable face now mature and dignified, she felt astonished.

“Hey, should I tell your sister to wait for you? Hurry back.”

At her mother’s words, Matthew replied,

“Okay! Sis, I’ll be right back.”

With that, he stepped out the door.

“So, how was your journey here? I was worried—bandits have been increasing lately.”

To her mother’s words, Scarlet smiled faintly.

“Mom, I’m a Hero—do you really think I’d be scared of bandits?”

In truth, any bandits she encountered on the way were all captured and handed over to the constabulary.

“Of course a Hero wouldn’t fall to mere bandits, but as a mother, I naturally worry.”

“Aw, don’t worry about that.”

When Scarlet said that, her mother nodded understandingly.

“That’s good to hear. But you should get married soon—you’re not young anymore.”

At her mother’s words, the face of her benefactor flashed through Scarlet’s mind.

“Ugh…”

“And what about that benefactor? When are you getting married?”

“Mom… I’m only 23. It’s still too early to get married…”

The average marriage age for women in Destiny is 20.

At 23, marriage still felt premature to her.

“Goodness, don’t you know Matthew’s already engaged? Besides, in today’s times, 23 is practically an old maid.”

To that, Scarlet opened her mouth to protest…

“Ugh…”

But ultimately said nothing. After all, her mother’s words were entirely reasonable.

Yet contrary to reason, her emotions didn’t feel that way.

Instead, the more her mother brought up marriage, the more uncomfortable Scarlet became.

“Elise already had a son. You should marry quickly and settle down. Soon, even if you want to, you won’t be able to.”

“Elise had a son?”

She was shocked by that.

Last year? Or the year before? She’d heard Elise got married, but already having a child?

Things really were very different from the city.

“Besides, our land has expanded so much—your father and Matthew are struggling. We need a son-in-law to come help.”

“Expanded land?”

To Scarlet’s question, her mother replied dismissively,

“The Baron gave us more land.”

At that, Scarlet’s head throbbed.

‘Mom… that’s a bribe.’

Imagining what the Baron might ask of her when she met him later made her dizzy.

Meanwhile…

“Scarlet! Oh! You really came back!”

Her father rushed into the house and embraced Scarlet.

“Huhuh… Oh, God. Thank you for safely returning my daughter.”

Her father stared intently at his daughter’s face.

“Scarlet, you’ve grown even more beautiful. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Seeing her father’s tearful expression, Scarlet’s heart ached.

“Huhuk… Dad!”

Soon, even Jeanne, her future sister-in-law, had gathered with them.

“Wow, Jeanne, you’ve changed so much I barely recognize you!”

She used to see Jeanne hanging around with Matthew often—how had everyone grown so much?

Time had truly passed since she left the village.

Seeing the boy and girl now grown into adults who had promised to marry, Scarlet felt a strange emotion.

‘What… does my benefactor think of me?’

‘Does he feel affection toward me?’

‘What if he dislikes me?’

As Scarlet thought that…

“Sister, you’re so beautiful! To be the strongest human in a woman’s body… Could you tell me just a few stories from your adventures?”

Jeanne’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, and a smile formed on Scarlet’s lips.

“You know, Jeanne really admires you, sis.”

“Of course! A woman becoming a Hero and defeating the Demon King? That’s only natural!”

Jeanne spoke as if it were obvious, making Matthew sulk and reply grumpily,

“Then you should call her ‘older sister’ instead.”

His grumbling complaint sounded adorable.

Though clearly much grown since childhood, her younger brother still reminded her of his small, fragile past self.

Back then, he was truly kind.

“Alright, I’ll tell you a few stories.”

Thus, Scarlet began recounting the more entertaining tales from her travels.

As they ate and talked, time passed, and night grew deep.

“But sister? Where is that benefactor? Didn’t he come with you this time?”

The benefactor who had come to help when the village was once in danger.

“Right, why didn’t you bring him along this time? I wanted to see my future son-in-law’s face after so long.”

‘Uh… Mom! We’re not married yet.’

Since it was still only her unrequited love, and she’d have to deal with rejection alone, Scarlet’s face flushed as if she’d already been turned down.

‘I haven’t even confessed yet.’

But rumors had already spread through the village that she and her benefactor were dating.

The culprit? Her younger brother, Matthew.

“Jeanne, we should get going.”

Seeing Scarlet’s fierce gaze, Matthew hastily stood up and said to Jeanne.

“I want to hear more.”

To Jeanne’s pleading, Matthew glanced nervously at his sister.

“Still, sister must be tired—she should rest.”

“I’m fine, really.”

In truth, Scarlet planned to rest at home for about two days before heading to the capital.

Though Scarlet said so, Matthew urged Jeanne.

“And your parents are worried about you—let’s go.”

“Hiiing… Okay.”

As Jeanne slowly rose from her seat, she turned back and asked,

“Sister, you’ll still be here tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. I plan to return to the capital the day after.”

To that, Jeanne said sadly,

“Hing, when will you come again?”

“Hmm? When everything is settled in the capital?”

She also wanted to meet her benefactor… and thought it’d be nice to see an opera for the first time in a while.

“Mmm, I’ll come again tomorrow. See you then!”

Watching Jeanne leave and Matthew accompanying her out, Scarlet smiled brightly.

I want to meet my benefactor soon too.

Every time she visited the capital, she’d met her benefactor.

When they met, they’d usually chat about how each had been doing, what had happened, and go on dates together.

This time, he’d surely praise her, right?

Since she’d defeated the Demon King faster than expected, it felt only natural.

In reality, Hans had screamed in frustration at finishing the Demon King faster than planned—but since she didn’t know that, she smiled sweetly.

And… this time, I must tell him my feelings.

Her benefactor kept coming to mind today.

Perhaps seeing Matthew and Jeanne getting along so well had something to do with it?

“Scarlet, if you’re done eating, go wash up.”

At her mother’s words, Scarlet replied,

“Okay, got it.”

***

We’re almost at Savannah Harbor, but there’s a big problem.

All my wealth, brought with me to the New Continent, sank into the sea—I don’t have a single coin left underwater.

First, traveling requires more than just a little money.

Food, sleeping bags, blankets.

Considering all the necessary items, I’ll likely need Leah’s help, so I spoke to her lying on my room’s bed.

“Leah, do you happen to have any money?”

Since Leah can use pocket dimension magic, I hoped she might have some money.

She sat up in bed and replied,

“Yes, I have some. How much do you need?”

“About five gold?”

Five gold amounts to roughly 50 million won—a huge sum.

To my words, Leah blushed slightly, twisting her short hair as she spoke.

“I… I can’t lend it to you. Actually, you don’t even have to pay me back.”

I was surprised by Leah’s generous words.

Perhaps becoming part of the Hero party meant receiving many bribes from nobles, making her rich and changing her spending habits?

I certainly think I taught my disciple well in this regard.

You must properly collect any bribes offered.

Simply joining the Hero’s party guarantees an enormous annual salary from the Empire.

And that’s not all—you receive many gifts and bribes from nobles eager to build connections with the Hero party.

She must have profited handsomely from being in the Hero party, so offering me money without worry was her way of thanking me for creating that opportunity.

Thinking I truly had an excellent disciple, I cleared my throat.

“Ahem… As expected of my disciple. To think of your master like that… You’ve really grown up.”

To my words, Leah replied as if I were talking nonsense.

“It’s money I saved for our wedding preparations anyway—you can use it however you like.”

“Huh?”

My body froze at her words.

And I resolved never to borrow money from Leah.

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