The Fake Hero Is Too Strong

Chapter 205

At first, I thought about simply renting a large room, but I soon changed my mind.

Considering how many people Adwin was going to summon, even a fairly big room wouldn’t be enough.

So I went down to the first floor and spoke with the innkeeper.

“Do you have any guests staying here tonight besides us?”

The innkeeper looked about ready to throw himself flat on the floor as he replied.

“There’s no one but you and your companions, Hero. I deliberately refused all other guests.”

Don’t look at me like you’re asking for praise.

I scratched my head and said,

“Then could I rent out the entire inn for the night? For about this much?”

“Th-this would be a problem.” “Ah, I see. Not enough, huh?”

“No! I mean, I can’t accept something like this.”

He politely pushed the pouch of money back toward me.

“If not for you, the Empire and I wouldn’t even exist. Which means this inn wouldn’t exist either.”

“……”

“You have protected humanity, Hero. That means you have protected this inn as well. Please, use it freely.”

“Th-thank you.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“No. In fact, I would prefer if you gave us some privacy. There are a lot of people I need to call here.”

The innkeeper bowed deeply, saying of course he would.

Before he left, I quietly slipped the pouch of money into his bag.

Neril, who noticed, spoke up.

“You have really changed a lot. If this were back when we first met, you would have complained about dipping into your retirement savings.”

“You’re changing for the better too. I can’t be the only one staying the same.”

“I’m changing for the better, huh?”

“Yeah. You are.”

“Heh.”

Neril smiled pleasantly.

Serein, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable as she spoke.

“Shall we get started? You keep going off-topic.”

“Right. Adwin.”

Adwin nodded.

He didn’t chant or perform any grand gestures.

Like Pirensha had done before, he simply snapped his fingers.

And with that alone, the entire hall of the inn filled up.

Thanks to Adwin’s spell, we could already see souls.

But these ones looked different from the souls we had seen before.

Xenia whispered,

“Who are they? Those people.”

“Huh? They are the souls you asked me to summon, of course.”

“You sound like a waiter announcing what dish is being served.”

“That’s such a you kind of comparison, noona.”

“I mean they look different from the ones we usually see. Not the bluish flame form, these have actual faces, limbs, everything.”

That was true.

Aside from appearing a little translucent, these spirits looked completely human.

Adwin explained,

“The reason necromancers summon souls in that flame form is because that’s the closest image they can imagine to a soul.”

“……”

“But since my fame grew, so did my understanding of souls. Now, summoning them in their living forms is easy.”

“Huh.”

“Plus, they can communicate directly now. You can talk to them yourself, hyung.”

I looked over the summoned souls again.

All were faces I had only ever seen in history books, though a few felt strangely familiar.

The first Hero, Grade.

The second Hero, Lepia, and her companion Iori.

The third Hero, Leon, and his companion Beyond.

All of them looked bewildered, as though unsure why they had been called here.

Clap.

I lightly clapped my hands.

“Everyone, may I have your attention.”

“Mr. Mide! It’s been a while.”

“You insolent servant, calling your liege before anyone else now?”

“Hey, good to see you. Still using that bell I gave you?”

Smiling at the ones who greeted me warmly, I continued.

“As you can see, those gathered here are the Heroes and Champions who once saved humanity.”

“……”

“I am the new Hero, Mide Mohan. These are my companions.”

I gestured to my party.

They had all been through countless trials with me and had nerves of steel, but even they looked a bit tense standing before the very names they’d grown up hearing about.

They introduced themselves stiffly except for Neril, who remained calm as always.

Once introductions were done, I spoke again.

“I have gathered you here tonight to make a respectful request.”

“Hold on.”

Grade raised his hand.

“Yes. I will arrange a separate meeting for you and Lisel later.”

“Appreciated, wait, that’s not what I meant.”

“Of course you would say that.”

“Heh. Can’t even call you arrogant anymore. You have gotten absurdly strong. I can’t even see your level now.”

At that, the other seventeen Heroes and Champions turned their attention toward him.

Grade went on.

“Anyway, what I was going to say was, how can we have a gathering like this without any drinks?”

“Huh? Oh… can you even drink?”

“Don’t know. Only one way to find out, bring some alcohol.”

To my surprise, Lepia agreed with him.

“I’m not much of a drinker, but I think sir Grade has a point.”

“Lady Lepia.”

“This gathering is, in one word, a miracle.”

“……”

“It’s something only you could create, Mide. It has never happened before, and it will probably never happen again.”

She was right.

Lepia spoke with the same gentle, warm tone she always had toward me.

“Let us commemorate this moment, Mide.”

“Truly well said, Lady Lepia. I have fallen for you all over again.”

“I told you not to say things like that in public, Iori.”

“Yes, ma’am…”

“Well, no need to look that dejected.”

Beyond cut in with a laugh.

“The second generation’s party atmosphere sure is different from ours, huh, Leon?”

“Didn’t we have a good vibe too?”

“Oh, we did. Just the kind where we were all babysitting a bunch of kids on the edge of danger.”

“Hey, come on. We didn’t have any kids in our party.”

“I was talking about you.”

At that moment, I heard Lisel’s voice.

She was already chatting with the members of the first generation party.

Lisel had been a member of that original party, after all.

“Then I suppose I should prepare some food.”

“Hehe. To think I would get to taste Lady Magna’s cooking again, it’s been so long.”

“I’m not sure if Lord Hermes will be able to eat, though.”

“Just watching will be more than enough enjoyment.”

And so, quite unexpectedly, a banquet was set up.

I placed a pouch of gold coins on the counter to pay for the drinks, then brought out an entire keg from the kitchen.

Lisel prepared simple dishes while the others brought out plates and utensils.

Once all the bustling preparations were finished, everyone turned to look at me.

Thud.

Neril lightly tapped my back.

“Well? Say something.”

“Huh? Me?”

“You’re the host of this banquet, aren’t you?”

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just… a little overwhelmed.”

I had started out as nothing more than a mercenary.

Before the regression, all I had done was play my part in Kaeld’s party, planning to retire with the emperor’s reward money once we defeated the Demon King.

But now, I had become a Hero with great companions, beginning with Trail.

And here I was, surrounded by past Heroes and Champions, all sitting before me with their glasses raised, waiting for me to speak.

Slowly, I lifted my glass.

“Is everyone’s cup full?”

“Mm. Though it seems I still can’t actually drink.”

“That’s fine. Please drink with your hearts.”

“Quite the unreasonable request.”

I raised my voice.

“To all of you who have devoted yourselves to the world, cheers.”

Cheers.

The banquet went on for quite some time.

Without breaking the mood, I gradually revealed pieces of the world’s hidden truths.

Everyone was astonished.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

They rejoiced, and they grieved.

Maybe the emotions swirling through the room were so strong that though only my companions were actually drinking, the atmosphere had the warmth and haze of deep intoxication.

“Damn that Padania bastard… No wonder we couldn’t find her anywhere in the underworld.”

“To think we trusted and relied on her so much.”

“Honestly, she always felt off. Like her heart was somewhere else.”

“The people of the continent won’t revere us anymore. Not that we ever did this for their admiration, but still, it stings.”

The fourth generation’s party looked like they were attending a funeral.

Lepia tried to comfort them.

“Please don’t think like that. Whether or not Padania was a fake Hero, it doesn’t change the fact that you were the heroes who fought the Demon King of Desolation.”

“But even that Demon King turned out to be fake.”

“Even so, your struggle to protect others, risking your lives, that was real.”

“Sniff… Lady Lepia, may I hold your hand just once? I have always admired you.”

“You will die.”

“Please, Iori, don’t interfere. Here you go.”

Meanwhile, in the third generation’s group, Leon was slumped over like a drunkard.

Beyond pressed a hand to his forehead.

“You’re still weak to alcohol.”

“I didn’t drink. Hic.”

“Then you’re drunk off the smell?”

“Mind if I join in?”

“Come, come! Oh, Lord Ort! Hey, get up, your senior’s here.”

“My head’s splitting…”

“It’s fine. Let him rest.”

I quietly watched the chaos of the Heroes and Champions.

It was… refreshing.

I and everyone on this continent had grown up hearing the names of the people before me.

Each one had achieved feats so great they seemed beyond human reach.

‘And yet…’

Naturally, they were still human.

Their personalities and talents might have been extraordinary, but at their core, they were no different from anyone else.

As I felt the heat of the lively banquet course through me, a thought crossed my mind.

‘The Heroes even before Impelium… would they have been like this too?’

No, not just them.

There must be Heroes in other worlds too, each with their own parties.

If I traced back far enough through time, there would be countless Heroes.

And there would be countless more to come, stretching endlessly into the future.

For a moment, I felt something vast and distant.

‘Is this really right? Is this system even just?’

I stopped that train of thought there.

Now wasn’t the time.

I needed to get to the point.

“Everyone, may I have your attention for a moment?”

“Hey, quiet down. The junior here is trying to speak.”

“Junior? Wouldn’t he be a senior among seniors, based on what Mide explained earlier?”

“I’m still struggling to wrap my head around all that.”

“Technically, Mide isn’t even just a Hero anymore. He is the god of this world, right?”

“With that personality? No way he would handle divine management. Probably got demoted and had to go back to being a Hero.”

…Who said that?

Of course, Grade.

[Heh. Fair enough. With your temperament, there’s no way you could manage a world. You would get bored and quit in a week.]

‘……’

[By the way, when all this is over, what happens to you? Do you return to your throne as the world’s master?]

‘Who knows.’

Something had occurred to me about that earlier, but now wasn’t the time to reveal it.

Anyway, I spoke aloud.

“During this banquet, I have shared all the secrets of the world at least, all the ones I know.”

“……”

“Does anyone have any other questions?”

Everyone exchanged looks.

Then, as if they had agreed beforehand, they all shook their heads.

Lepia spoke on their behalf.

“Not really. Oh, though I do have one thing.”

“What is it?”

“What will you do now? You said you need ten million fame to defeat that man called Aktion, didn’t you?”

“A good question, Lady Lepia.”

I took a slow breath.

They were all Heroes and Champions themselves, they knew just how significant fame was.

Which made this all the harder to say.

“That Demon King I mentioned earlier, Velosian, has the authority to deceive the world and transfer fame.”

“What?”

“Since none of you have moved on to other worlds, your fame still remains intact. So…”

“……”

“I would like to ask you to lend me your fame, just for a while.”

I said that and began to bow deeply.

But before I could even bend all the way, Grade’s voice came.

“Sure.”

“Of course, I knew it would be difficu… wait. What?”

“I said I will lend it to you.”

Grade spoke lazily.

“I was wondering what grand speech you were building up to, and it’s just that?”

“……”

“I’m already dead. No point clinging to fame from when I was alive.”

There was no hint of enlightenment in his tone, just calm simplicity.

He wasn’t making some noble sacrifice to grant me his fame.

To him, ‘I’m already dead, so I don’t need fame’ wasn’t something profound, it was simply a fact.

‘Truly…’

This… this was what a true Hero should be.

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