Volume 1. Chapter 7. Sacrifice and Betrayal Traces of a Forgotten Hero.

Cini and her two friends were having lunch when they saw Una and the others descending the stairs. Una asked Elia and Cindy to sit at a table not far from them.

"You two wait here while I ask the innkeeper to make some food."

"Sorry to bother you, Una."

"No problem, Elia, wait a minute."

Una left them and approached the bar where the innkeeper was.

Cindy carefully observed the three men who had helped her, and Elia noticed it.

"Do you want to be an adventurer?"

Cindy turned away from them and looked at her hands after hearing Elia's words.

"I have no talent for magic or swordsmanship at all. How could I possibly be an adventurer?"

"Don't worry about joining their party. I'm sure Una would happily have someone to talk to."

Cindy was silent for a moment, looking back at Rii and his two friends and thinking about the offer.

"Can I join their party?"

"Of course, they are not open to other people joining. But if you want, maybe they will accept you."

Elia's words convinced Cindy, who didn't want to trouble others or miss the chance to be with kind people like Una.

Cindy received an identity card from Elia at the guild as a C-rank adventurer.

"This is your guild card. If you lose it, please inform the guild within three days, or you'll be fined."

Elia handed over the guild card, and Cindy accepted the card from both of Elia's hands.

"Thank you."

Cindy smiled happily, getting her guild card.

"I don't know whether to be happy, but Cindy. You should know first that the three of them are lazy people, and as the party leader, I apologize to you."

"Hey, your words can make our reputation bad anywhere."

Cini complained about the baseless accusation.

"Since Cindy is already part of us, how about tomorrow taking a request as Cindy's first mission with us?"

Rii made a suggestion, which Cindy agreed to. Cindy did not object, and neither did Una.

But a few seconds later, an S-rank adventurer rushed into the guild, panicked and terrified.

He told all the adventurers there that the city of Tars, which was the main fortress, was attacked by another demon king's army.

Una was so shocked and trembled upon hearing the news.

"Are you sure?!"

One of the A-rank adventurers wanted to make sure the news was true.

"Wait—Hendrik, where are Lurid and Felir?"

"Demon beasts ate them."

Hendrik's answer shocked and confused all the adventurers.

"Eaten by demon beasts, you say?"

Someone said, wanting to make sure the previous statement was true.

"Hendrik, don't say you sacrificed them for your safety."

"No!"

Hendrik denied the accusation, claiming that they were sacrificed so he could survive.

"If that's true, why did you return without a wound?"

Everyone began to doubt Hendrik's words.

A small commotion occurred, and Una couldn't stay silent. She had an earring that allowed her to see someone's past upon touching them.

"Una?"

Cindy was surprised to see Una walking towards Hendrik.

"It's only natural that we suspect you because you survived without receiving any injuries, even when you met a demon beast."

Una also suspected that Hendrik sacrificed his two friends to save himself, so she extended one of her hands to Hendrik.

"What?"

Hendrik was confused by this.

"I have an earring that can allow me to see the past if what you said is true. I will testify and defend you."

Everyone became curious, and the atmosphere turned awkward. Hendrik did not believe there was such an earring, grabbed one of Una's hands and touched it.

The gemstone earring on Una's ear flashed, and Una saw where another demon king's army had attacked the city of Tars.

She also saw Hendrik and his two friends fleeing the battle from the war; in the middle of escape, they were surrounded by demon beasts and sacrificed his two friends.

"You…"

Una let go of Hendrik's hand and stared at him.

"What did you see? Tell us quickly."

One of the people asked and was curious about what Una saw.

"Another demon king's army indeed attacked the city of Tars. Hendrik and his friends fled from the front lines and injured his friends' legs to use them as shields."

Una's words upset and angered all the adventurers because Hendrik was more concerned with himself.

"Running away is common, but your selfish actions cannot be tolerated."

Someone said, cornering Hendrik with his words.

"No, you've been deceived by this woman. Do you believe in a power that can see the past?"

Hendrik defended himself and tried to convince everyone.

"Are you okay, Una?"

Elia and Cindy approached their friend, who suddenly looked gloomy.

"So you're saying our friend is lying?"

Rii said in an annoyed tone.

"We don't know what Una saw, but from your face... it's obvious that you're hiding something."

Cini also stood up for Una, irritated by Hendrik's attempt to manipulate everyone.

"But if what she said is true, I hope they both will haunt you forever."

Cini's words were like a curse directed at Hendrik.

"Come on, we should get out of this place."

Vail urged his friends to leave the guild and return to the inn.

That night, Una couldn't sleep. Her mind was settled on beliefs about the future and heroes.

She fell out of bed, leaving Cindy fast asleep, and calmly opened the door. She saw Vail and Cini, who came out of Rii's room.

"Why are you two standing at the door?"

Rii came from inside the room and became silent when she saw Una, who should have slept earlier.

"It's unusual for you to be still awake. Is something on your mind?"

Cini said with curiosity.

"Rii, Cini, Vail. There is something I want to say."

"Something?"

They were curious about it.

"Does this have anything to do with your actions this afternoon?"

Una nodded and confirmed Rii's words.

"Yes, but I'm not gonna talk about it here."

Una didn't want anyone to hear their conversation.

"Come in, I'll cast magic to make Rii's room soundproof."

Una nodded again and stepped into Rii's room. Vail kept his word there, using his powers to make Rii's room soundproof.

"I've made this room soundproof. Other people won't hear our voices even if we scream."

Vail assured them that his barrier would block any sound from escaping.

"So... what do you want to talk about?"

Cini was deeply curious.

Nia fell silent for a moment, unsure how to begin. Because of their actions, the future was at risk if the heroes in Tars were to fall.

"After hearing the news from Hendrik, I'm sure the defence on the front lines has weakened. If our front lines are destroyed, the ancestor of the demon king will easily defeat us."

Nia laid out the grim outcome that could follow if the heroes and forces in Tars were destroyed.

"Because the union didn't get news from me, they sent another witch to perform the summoning once more."

They were surprised to hear Nia's words.

"Do the summoning again?"

Cini didn't expect the summoning ritual to be done more than once.

"That's right, but this summoning requires a sacrifice."

"What do you mean by sacrifice?"

Vail and her two friends were even more curious about Nia's words.

Nia was silent again for a moment. She wore a troubled expression as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"To be able to summon, we need at least two hundred years. And it requires a sacrifice if we want to summon again."

"You mean, the sacrifice needed to summon the hero again is the future of this world?"

Vail said the conclusion he got from Nia's explanation.

"What you said is the truth, Vail."

"And—"

"Enough for now, Nia. You should go to your room. Let us handle the rest."

Rii didn't want Nia to regret and blame herself for the incident that had befallen the city of Tars.

Following Rii's words, she went to her room and tried to sleep. Hoping that she would forget what she had seen from Hendrik's past.

"I didn't expect the problem to be this big."

Cini felt guilty because she had previously helped convince Nia to keep the summoning a secret.

"Something that has happened cannot be regretted. All we need to do is prepare ourselves."

Vail reminded his two friends not to regret on the advice they once gave Nia Aghture.

"But if Nia said that, another hero has been summoned to this world."

Rii came to a conclusion based on what she had heard.

"If I remember correctly, Nia once told us that Tars City is located south of the special forest and Norf City. Do you want to go there and see it for ourselves?"

Vail suggested they check on Tars City and indirectly meet the new hero Nia had mentioned.

"That's all we can do for now. After we meet the hero, we'll decide on our next move."

"Okay."

Cini did not object to Rii's words.

That night, they traveled to Tars City, which lay to the south. They cast a flying spell and soared through the air like arrows.