Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 31

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 31

Oops, realizing her mistake belatedly, she quickly composed her expression after remembering that Meriel’s reputation was quite well-known throughout the Empire.

“Yes. I’m serving the Hero.”

“You’re truly remarkable for such a young age.”

If we’re talking about my original body, I’m actually older. The Hero only just became an adult last year.

Thinking about it again made me feel a bit indignant.

What was the Temple doing while the young Hero was saving the world alone? Of course, there was also a route where Meriel the High Priest was taken along as a companion. Though I left her behind in this playthrough, since the healer’s role was important, I often chose her as a companion.

‘But one High Priest is different from the higher-ups.’

“The Temple doesn’t assign people to help.”

That’s why the words came out so bluntly. Then Meriel showed a troubled expression.

“That person dislikes having people by his side…”

“Hmm, that’s true. Thinking back to the beginning, I thought he hated people.”

In previous playthroughs, when choosing companions, the Hero showed clear displeasure. The Hero, who rarely refused even when given tasks that people avoided, extremely disliked forming deep relationships with people.

‘But then again, he kept talking to me.’

I found it annoying, so later on I didn’t respond well. It was a bit awkward having the Hero, one of the game characters, talk to me.

Of course, after entering the game, that became an unnecessary thought.

“I really wanted to meet you once, and now we have this connection.”

Meriel said with a pretty smile. I didn’t expect her to want to meet me first, so I pointed at myself with my finger and tilted my head.

“Hehe, yes. The Hero doesn’t allow meetings with anyone except a few High Priests, so I couldn’t visit in the end.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Since you’re someone who fainted and woke up, you need mental and physical rest, and it would be confusing if strangers kept coming.”

So it wasn’t my imagination that only familiar High Priests kept following me around. It seemed Adam had deliberately arranged the personnel selection.

“I wanted to meet you too, High Priest.”

“Oh, really?”

It was true. If not for the vicious conditions of the Hidden Quest, I would have made her a companion in this playthrough too.

Like Adam, Meriel was evaluated as having latent divine power at a young age and possessed tremendous skills. She was always my first choice to take along…

“I’m so happy…”

Her shy gesture of covering her mouth while showing joy looked so cute it was purifying to watch. If Meriel had been by Adam’s side, he wouldn’t have such a bleak personality now.

“Do you have a friendship with the Hero, High Priest Meriel?”

“Um, unfortunately no. We’ve only talked once or twice.”

So this is the distance between Meriel and Adam when she’s not chosen as a companion.

The relationship between the Temple’s promising High Priest and the Hero.

“Still, since he’s the Hero, I always heard stories about him! But there’s nothing known about him, so I was just curious…”

Since I minimized contact between other characters in this playthrough, Adam’s image unintentionally became shrouded in mystique.

Meriel seemed to be the same as she excitedly brought up the topic.

“I thought he’d be incredibly burly and scary-looking, but when I saw him in person, he was completely different from my imagination.”

“Why did you think that?”

“Among all the previous Heroes, none had killed the Demon King alone. So I imagined someone with enough power to kill the Demon King by himself.”

Someone burly with a fierce appearance? Listening to Meriel’s description while imagining Adam’s face with such features made me chuckle.

But Meriel was disappointed in a different way.

“He had less muscle than I thought, which was disappointing…”

‘…Was that her preference?’

Meriel sighed, saying it was disappointing that he wasn’t the atmosphere she had imagined, but I wanted to argue a bit.

‘Even if not as much as Meriel wants, Adam is quite…’

He had a physique that wouldn’t lose out anywhere. However, I couldn’t tell Meriel all the details about that fact. With some regret set aside, I listened to Meriel’s story.

“Anyway, the Elderly High Priest always told us stories about him. That he would become someone great. That we should always respect and help him.”

Meriel spoke as if reminiscing.

“Why does the Elderly High Priest like the Hero so much? Oh, of course as a High Priest he would, but it seems like he takes an unusually special interest in the Hero.”

“I don’t know well either, but… I think I heard it’s because he resembles the child of a deceased close friend.”

“I see.”

After chatting about various things, we decided to use casual terms with each other.

Meriel nodded her head a couple of times with a happy face, saying she would do so.

“I thought the Hero didn’t keep people by his side, but seeing Iberis, it doesn’t seem to be the case.”

“Is that so?”

“As expected, Iberis is amazing.”

Since I never thought it was something to be praised for, I somehow became embarrassed.

“At first, I was kicked out too!”

“Oh my, by the Hero?”

“Yes! He was completely merciless.”

Recalling the past, Adam’s current behavior of keeping me around and treating me well seemed like great progress.

But it’s completely unnecessary.

“It’s amazing to me that the Hero showed such various behaviors!”

High Priest Meriel, by any chance, is getting kicked out your preference?

I should respect preferences, but as someone who was always hit on the back of the neck, knocked unconscious, and kicked out, I didn’t want to respect it. As I was feeling a slight emotional distance from her, someone called me from behind.

“Eve. What exactly are you doing here?”

“…!”

Oh no, Adam told me not to talk to strangers.

But Meriel was unavoidable. I couldn’t leave behind Meriel, who was our party’s only healer.

She was a companion I always took along without fail…

‘And don’t they look good together?’

I stepped back one step and took in their appearance. The Mercenary Queen also suited him, but pure white Meriel seemed to match well with snow-white Adam too…

“Please don’t be angry. We were talking about the Hero.”

Meriel answered his question on my behalf.

Only then did Adam shift his gaze to her and bow his head briefly in an indifferent greeting.

“Is that so. Then I’ll take the child back with me.”

“Hehe, please do.”

Meriel smiled mysteriously with her eyes, but Adam looked away and shifted his gaze back to me.

Adam approached me with large steps and whispered.

“Didn’t I tell you not to follow strangers?”

“What the Hero told me about was unknown Demonic Beasts!”

“People are more dangerous. Demons and Demonic Beasts don’t lie because they have blind faith in their own power. But people are different.”

It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand Adam’s words. Adam had been used by many adults following his parents since childhood.

However…

‘She’s your companion, your companion!’

Do you know how many times she saved your life? This ungrateful…

“There are people who promise to be together forever and then disappear without a word.”

“…”

I pressed my lips tightly shut just as I was about to retort. My conscience was already pricked.

‘He’s not talking about me, is he?’

I think I might have said something about forever to Adam… or maybe not…

I think I might have said something plausible because they say when raising a young Hero from the start, there are cases where they refuse to awaken…

‘My sin is great.’

Being possessed into the game could also be considered my sin.

The sin of playing a terrible game, the sin of signing without even reading the contract.

“Do you dislike High Priests, Hero?”

“I neither like nor dislike them. But I do seem to dislike Eve not listening to me and moving around.”

“When did I not listen to the Hero! If there’s anyone as good as me, let them come forward!”

I protested in indignation, but Adam didn’t even pretend to listen.

“You fainted from touching a Sacred Relic incorrectly just a few days ago, and you’re already forgetting and wandering around alone. It’s dangerous.”

“Even in the Temple?”

“Even if the Pope himself came, he wouldn’t have known the Sacred Relic would explode.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t an explosion, but Adam’s words made sense.

‘Still, isn’t this level of overprotection going too far?’

If they’re going to be like this, they might as well send me back to the Demon King’s Castle!

I was grumbling quietly when Adam, after confirming no one was around, asked me.

“Do you hear some kind of sound?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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