The Fake Hero Is Too Strong

Chapter 196

Impelium flinched as if I had hit a weak spot.

“It’s not just you. Grade, Lepia, Leon. You helped them too, didn’t you? Even if they don’t remember it now.”

“…How did you know?”

“The Eye of Omniscience can’t talk smoothly from the start. It begins at D-grade, level 1, and improves step by step.”

“…”

“For example, things like how to turn fame into power, you could never figure that out just by using the Eye of Omniscience. Someone has to explain it in person. Like how you explained it to me.”

Impelium stayed silent, which was as good as admitting it.

I went on.

“You called Grade, Lepia, and Leon, just like you called me to your room, your dining hall, or this garden to explain everything, right?”

“That’s right.” “Then you have already done everything you could. You were still thinking about the world of Mide all along. It means you’re no different from Grade and the others.”

“…”

“Don’t blame yourself, Impelium. You were just as great a hero as any of them.”

After I said that, I froze.

Impelium’s eyes had turned red.

I wasn’t sure what to say next, but then a voice came.

Rustle.

Serad had quietly placed her hand on Impelium’s shoulder.

“Feeling better now? You have been agonizing over that for ten thousand years.”

“Serad.”

“I tried comforting you so many times, but you didn’t even listen and now you tear up over Mide’s words? That’s not fair.”

“No. If it weren’t for you, I would have been crushed by guilt long ago.”

“Hehe. Anyway, it’s time to let it go. Like Mide said, you have done amazingly well. You have looked after both our world and his.”

Impelium placed his hand over hers.

He quietly swallowed his tears and looked at me.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“I wasn’t trying to comfort you. I was just stating the truth.”

“Maybe so. But it still comforts me deeply.”

I nodded.

Then I asked another question.

“There are still a few things I don’t understand.”

“…”

“Before the regression, Trail merged with me right before the final battle with Idria, but he didn’t know why. What happened there?”

“…”

“And why could I see the blood script when I was seven? Why was I abandoned as a baby on Mount Baharma?”

Impelium gave the same answer as always.

“You will have to see that for yourself.”

“Hey.”

“I’m not teasing you. I mean it, you can check it yourself.”

“Huh?”

“Because I’m finally going to pass everything on to you.”

He looked at Serad.

She nodded and clapped her hands softly.

“Everyone, gather for a moment!”

The noisy banquet hall went quiet.

One by one, my party members came closer.

Serad spoke.

“Impelium is going to pass everything on to Mide.”

While we were walking back to the inn earlier, I had already explained the secrets I had learned to everyone, so they all understood what “passing everything on” meant.

Neril said, “Mide’s fame is over a million, and you have already given up something precious. The last step left is the inheritance…”

“That’s something you temporarily achieved when you took Aktion’s power,” another added.

“So this time it will be permanent, huh? But why now? It would have been nice if you had done it earlier.”

Impelium answered, “It sounds simple, passing on a shared interest, but the meaning behind it is deeper than the ocean.”

“…”

“I have been preparing for it ever since I first spoke to Mide. And I only finished the preparations yesterday.”

Passing everything on meant one thing: the one leaving gives all of their knowledge and power to the one staying behind.

In other words…

“When it’s done, we won’t see you again, will we?”

At Lisel’s question, Impelium nodded silently.

Everyone’s faces fell.

Seeing that, Serad said softly, “See, Impelium? Everyone is sad to let you go. They haven’t even met you that many times, except Mide.”

Serein spoke up.

“Someone once said that the depth of a bond doesn’t depend on the time spent together.”

“That’s beautiful. Who said that?”

“I did.”

“…Doesn’t sound like you.”

“Yeah, I admit it…. wait, haven’t we had this exact conversation before?”

I chuckled and stood up.

Then I told the others, “This goodbye is really final. Impelium and Serad are leaving for an entirely different world.”

“A different world?”

“I will explain later. But it’s true, you won’t ever see them again, so say what you want now.”

Everyone looked at each other, then began to speak one by one.

“Thank you. Without you, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“Please watch over us when we fight Velosian and Aktion… ah, right, you said you couldn’t.”

“Sir, ma’am, thank you so much!”

“I’m not great with words, but… I hope you live well wherever you go.”

“Be happy. We will be happy too. And thanks for the recipes, Miss Serad.”

“May your business prosper too… wait, maybe that’s a weird thing to say to people like you.”

Finally, Trail stepped forward.

He hesitated before asking, “Before you go, can I ask one thing?”

“Go ahead, say it comfortably.”

“Uh… who exactly am I?”

“That’s a mix of polite and casual speech. Anyway, what do you mean?”

“I used to think I was the hero chosen by Adin to fight Idria. But now… I’m not so sure.”

Trail scratched his head.

“Mide is the hero. Neril and the rest are his companions. Then what am I?”

“…”

“It just suddenly hit me. I would like to know the answer.”

I hadn’t expected Trail to be thinking like that.

We were all stunned, staring at him.

“Trail, you’re…”

“No, don’t take it too seriously. I just wanted to ask lightly.”

Trail.

He was the hero who was supposed to kill Idria.

He is my comrade, my ally, my hero, my party member.

But even with all that, it still didn’t feel like enough to describe him.

It felt like there was one perfect word for him, just out of reach.

‘I can almost remember it… almost.’

Then Impelium said,

“Ask Mide about that later.”

“Huh?”

“When the transfer is done, Mide will be able to fully control the Eye of Omniscience. So he will finally be able to tell you everything you have been wondering about.”

Trail looked at me with eyes full of excitement.

I looked away for no reason and said, “Let’s start.”

“Alright. For the transfer, I just have to share any hobby from the past heroes… Whose hobby should I share with you?”

“…”

“For reference, Lepia shared Grade’s hobby, and Leon shared Lepia’s. You can pick any of them. Or you can choose from the twenty or so older heroes before them, it doesn’t matter.”

Neril tilted her head.

“More than twenty? What’s he talking about?”

I calmed her down with a small gesture. She nodded since I had already said I would explain everything later.

I said, “You probably already know my answer.”

“…”

“What’s your hobby?”

A smile spread on Impelium’s face.

He straightened his posture and stood up, giving me a polite bow.

“It’s an honor, senior.”

“…!”

All my party members looked shocked.

And it made sense. From Impelium’s point of view, I really was his senior because the very existence of “Mide’s world” meant that somewhere, sometime, I had already defeated the Demon King.

For someone like Impelium, who came from that later world, I was definitely the senior hero.

Impelium went on.

“The world you have nurtured is truly a warm one for humanity.”

“Ahem. The world I have seen while working as a mercenary didn’t seem so warm.”

“That’s because you haven’t seen the worlds made by other heroes.”

“…”

“When you plant a seed, it sprouts. The sun and moon rise and set on time. The earth supports your feet. Livestock grow if you feed them.”

“…”

“People can breathe, eat, love, talk, and share emotions.”

I didn’t really get what he meant.

Offense, who had been listening quietly, asked carefully, “Aren’t those things just… normal?”

“Exactly. The fact that you think all that is normal…. that’s proof Mide’s world is warm.”

“…”

“Humanity should realize just how kind the world you made truly is.”

The others still didn’t understand what was going on and looked even more confused.

Impelium turned back to me.

“I made my world following yours as a model. And I have a goal, to create a world even better than yours.”

“…”

“I’m going to focus more on that goal now. So… farewell, Mide.”

I decided to change my tone too.

After all, I had always been polite even to mere lords. And this was a hero who had watched over my world while tending to his own. Being respectful was the least I could do.

“I will save my world. So you can focus on yours without worry.”

“Haha. Of course I trust you.”

“…”

“…”

“Maybe we should drop the formal speech?”

“Let’s.”

Yeah, that suited us both better.

Snap.

Impelium snapped his fingers.

The scene around us changed.

When I blinked, we were in his room.

He walked to the window and said, “My hobby is watching the outside world from here.”

“What a boring hobby.”

“Your tone just got ruder again. Anyway, remember the first time you were called to this room?”

I nodded.

Back then, I had stood beside Impelium, looking out that same window, but all I saw was emptiness. Nothing but a blank void.

“Now I will let you see what I see.”

“…”

“I remember you said you don’t like crowded cities. But change your taste for a bit. You need to agree to see this.”

“Alright, I agree.”

“Not just in words… well, fine. How about seeing the world I have built so far? That’s part of my hobby too.”

That caught my interest immediately.

Impelium nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”

He turned his body, and I followed his gaze out the window.

“…!!”

An incredible sight spread before me.

The world.

I was looking at an entire world all at once.

It was surprisingly round like a globe.

As I looked closer, I realized that what I thought were spots and lines were actually continents, lands divided into many countries, each with its own culture and technology.

In seconds, centuries passed before my eyes.

Nations split and merged, technology advanced, and humanity fought and united through disasters.

“Look there.”

Impelium pointed somewhere.

A child was being born.

“That’s the newest hero.”

“Wow.”

“That makes four heroes so far in my world.”

“What about the Demon King this time?”

“The Demon King of Division,” he said, scratching his head awkwardly.

“Lately, people have been fighting and hating each other over small things. There’s only so much I can do to help.”

“You could have sent down an oracle like Adin did. Oh, right… you didn’t want gods in your world, huh?”

“Yeah. If I did, it would have turned out like your world in Adin’s time.”

“…”

“Well, let’s hope this hero does well. I will just keep helping him.”

And when that hero kills the Demon King of Division, he will receive his reward and move on to another world.

That’s how the species called humanity spreads across the universe and dimensions.

Whoever made this system… really.

Then suddenly, I heard it.

Once again.

I had been chosen as the world’s hero.

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