Hero's Aside: All but One Again

I paced around the front gardens of the Demon King’s tower as the first rays of sunrise began to creep across the trees of the Hirsent mountains. Anxiety kept my pace swift and caused me to chew my thumbnail with fervor. My eyes darted for any sign of Silva with each lap around the courtyard. If everything had gone well, she would have had Lina and Heide in tow long before dawn. But it looked like she, too, had failed.

When they did not return after the first hour, I resorted to searching for them in the Dreamscape, but they were nowhere to be found. It was not just the girls that were gone, but the prince, too. Though I did not stay long to check every dream, what with that Former Demon King lurking in places he did not belong. I did not feel confident in facing him in the Dreamscape yet. I still had a long way to go in dominating that place.

I also did not want another run in with a certain clueless High Prince in case he started nagging me about Lina’s whereabouts again. Because, as of now, I was as clueless as he was, and I did not think I could handle that kind of humiliation.

My anxiety even pushed me to leave the comfort of the indoors and pace about in the fresh air, waiting for my girls to return. The anticipation was too much for me to be content with sitting and waiting.

Luckily, I was not alone or I might just go nuts with restlessness. Even at my speed, Gertrude kept pace with me, a lacey purple parasol, large enough for the two of us, resting in her hand. She was humming happily, unaware of my growing impatience.

So annoying. But I would rather take oblivious, cheerful Gertrude over preachy, self-righteous Gertrude, who rambled on about the good in people. She had learned her lesson well. It took a bit of time for it to sink in properly, but she was back to being the good, obedient girl I preferred.

I could only hope that the other three remained as loyal to me as her. I ground my teeth against my nail as I walked throughout the garden. When we first arrived at the tower as a party, I did not think I would see such a pleasant sight. I was expecting harcore aesthetics like dark stone statues of monsters, or corpses hanging from pikes. But knowing the personality of the tower’s master, I’m sure he wanted to create a soothing working environment for his underlings. I just wish that his taste was a little less… childish. My nose curled as I passed a hedge trimmed into the shape of a chibified Demon King, grinning playfully as it flashed a victory V with its fingers.

Frankly, it was just gross to look at and ruined the whole evil fortress vibe. I spared a moment to seize the ugly thing by its barely-existent neck, rip it out of the ground by its roots–with my max strength, it was like pulling a toothpick from a sandwich–and hurling it toward the rising sun. The shrub rocketed through the horizon until it disappeared from view. I stopped my walk to admire my work, though I was scowling.

“Amazing!” sang Gertrude as she skipped to my side to shield me from the rays of dawn with her parasol. “But there’s got to be better ways to vent than killing cute bushes. I’m sure Silva will be back any minute with Heide and Lina safe and sound! Just you wait!”

I ignored her. I did not need her opinion! Right now, I did not care whether Heide and Silva returned or not. Unless they had Lina with them.

And here I thought they were powerful. They had certainly proved their strength on our journey to the tower. And yet, all three had failed to bring back Lina. Why?! Why was this one girl giving me so much trouble? I thought she would be eager to return to my side.

I thought she loved me.

It must be that prince. No doubt he had turned her against me just like he tried with Gertrude. Lina was so sheltered, she’d believe that the sky was green if someone told her with enough authority. Perhaps the prince had used that misplaced confidence to persuade Lina and the other two to join his party. The very thought filled me with rage. He had no right! They were mine first! I am the Hero! This is my story!

I would rather my girls die than allow them to belong to someone else. Yet the only one of them that I could not afford to lose was the one that continued to evade me!

Lina… It was fate that brought us together. And it was my quick thinking that convinced her to run away with me. She possessed the power I needed to exact my vengeance on this world.

Even with the few stats I had yet to max out, I had the ability to obliterate this awful reality. What I could not do was rebuild what was left. Lina was my precious architect. She was a one-of-a-kind five-star platinum roll in Goddess Crash. Yet without her by my side, even she would be consumed by the devastation I planned to unleash.

It would be swift, indiscriminate, and have a cool name like Max World-Eater. There would be no half effort either. It was either to obliterate the world in one blow or not at all. And until I got Lina back, I would allow the world to continue.

That didn’t mean that I had to be happy about it. I was doing everything to keep my anger in check, but it was starting to boil over. If one more thing went wrong…

Something soft pressed against my shoulder. A hand. And then Gertrude’s voice.

“Cheer up, sweetie! I know, why don’t you–”

At her touch, my rage exploded. I seized the girl by her wrist and yanked it from my shoulder. The soft material from her lacey cuff did nothing to cushion my crushing grip. I managed to restrain myself enough not to break the bones or tear her flesh, but I could tell from her face that Gertrude was in intense pain.

She screamed, dropped her parasol and tried to pull her arm free with a cry of, “You’re hurting me, sweetie! You’re hurting me!”

I just stared at her struggling in vain against my iron grip, as cold fire spilled from my gaze. She stared at me in terror.

Tears ran down her face and something came alive in her eyes that was not there before. “Sweetie…?”

Her appeal fell on deaf ears as I lifted her by the wrist so that her feet left the ground. I spoke at last. “What gives you the right to call me that?” With my thumb, I forced the lace from her armband downward, which exposed the puckered scars hidden beneath. “Or have you forgotten who you belong to?”

She was trembling but did not struggle. “B-but I thought…”

I silenced her with a squeeze to her wrist, my fingernails digging into the ruined flesh. Drawing blood. “You thought wrong.” I smiled, using my other hand to wipe a tear from her cheek and stroked her exposed scars with a gentle thumb. “But hey, cheer up. There’s no one better you can serve, right?”

Gertrude whimpered a pathetic response, her sunshine eyes longing to look away. But I did not waiver as I waited for a proper answer.

Finally, she nodded with a, “Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Good girl.” I let go and allowed her to return to the ground where she fell to her knees. Gertrude began to sob and cradled her now bruising arm, taking care to return her armband, and its twin on her left wrist, back in place. Ensuring that her shame was covered. I turned my back on her and stared out at the horizon.

I don’t know why she even bothered to hide the evidence of her captivity. Scars, armbands, or shackles—none of it made a difference. Gertrude knew her place. She knew she was born to serve. By the laws of the Bruin Kingdom, I owned her.

I sighed and thumbed my Great Buster Blade. If I were honest with myself, I was growing bored of her. Sure, she was cute, but I thought when I won her in that contest at Reisenreich that she would prove to be more useful than she turned out to be. If Lina was a platinum star pull, then Gertrude was a silver star, maybe even a bronze.

She had no problem acting as our mage in our journey to the Demon King, but at some point, she would fall victim to power creep. It would be best to retire her before that happened. I continued to thumb my Blade as I considered. Then again, there was nothing wrong with having a display only. I shouldn’t let my anger dictate my actions. Even if it was her fault.

“Gertrude.” I let my hand fall from the sword and turned to look at the sobbing girl. She looked up at me with puffy eyes and I smiled. “I forgive you.”

Whatever it was that was alive in her eyes disappeared again. She beamed back. “Really?”

I nodded and reached out a hand. Gertrude did not hesitate to take it. She even used the arm that I just bruised. It was amazing, really, how powerful my charisma stat was. In my original world, I was nothing. Ignored by my peers who did not even try to understand me.

But here in this world, I was everything. I had everything I could ever want with little effort. When I first learned that I could read the stats of myself and others, I was worried that I would have to put in actual effort to raise them. Strength, defense, speed, magic, charisma, dexterity, perception, and stamina were all standard stats, and while mine started off pretty low—my strength was only twenty-three, below the average peasant—I found that I could raise all of them at once by killing low-level monsters. Of course, higher-level monsters gave more, but I was not about to risk myself like that.

That was until I discovered that I also gained stats increases when my party members killed monsters. What was even better is that I gained twice what the others earned. So, in the beginning, all I had to do was rely on Silva’s over-fifty strength stat and reap the benefits. Within two weeks, I was twice as strong as her with little effort. Even still, I let her and the others do most of the work while I focused on maxing stats.

I had no doubt that this world was created just for me! But that did not mean it could not use some improvements. It’s people, for one. I pulled Gertrude to her feet. She was reluctant to let go of my hand, so I rewarded her with a pat on her head. “Good girl.”

Gertrude beamed again.

As long as she and the other girls remained loyal to me, there was no reason for me to leave them behind, even if they were failures. When they returned with Lina, I would save them from this horrible world. And we would live out our lives together in the new one. Happy forevermore.

I pictured our lives together in the world Lina and I would create. Oh, what fun we would have. It was such a pleasant thought that I almost forgot why I was anxious in the first place.

Almost.

But as I drank in Gertrude’s almost worshipful gaze, I felt the fear begin to rise again. Oh, please, I thought, Return to me! It seemed like Iliana was eager to grant my wish, for no sooner had I thought this, that I felt the arrival of two distinct presences.

I eagerly turned toward the entrance to the gardens, where two figures lay in a heap. The last remaining shadows covered them, so it was difficult to make them out from this distance, even with my max perception. My breath caught in my throat. Is Lina among them?

Heart beating a rhythm in my chest, I ran to where the two girls were as they began to rise and pulled themselves out of their tangled mess. Gertrude was right behind me filled with an anxious aura that could rival mine.

I stood over the girls, my eyes desperate as I watched them. As soon as I came to a stop, they looked up at me. Silva and Heide. My heart sank. My lips were dry, making it too difficult to form words. I wet them and tried again. “Where…is Lina.”

Heide’s smile, which had been plastered on her face since the moment she saw me, fell into a sad, thin line. She looked to be on the brink of tears. It was Silva who answered with gritted teeth. “She got away.”

Silva refused to meet my gaze. She was staring at the ground, eyes burning with rage. But her anger was nothing compared to mine. “She what?!”

“It wasn’t our fault!” said Heide, pressing her flute to her cheek as if it were a life line. “That prince…the Deborn…that stupid horse!” A surge of anger washed over Heide’s disposition before she managed to compose herself. I was in no mood for excuses, but what she said intrigued me.

“Horse? You mean that weird sheriff?”

Heide nodded, “They stole my precious mother and imprisoned me. Silva tried to save me, but then…but then…” Heide’s face went blank as she trailed off. “...I don’t remember what happened after that.” She looked to Silva for help, who mirrored her confusion, rubbing her head.

“We…were defeated…by…by…” She screwed her eyes shut and shook her head like she was trying to get water out of her ear. Which gave Heide an opportunity to finish Silva’s thought.

“We were defeated by that prince. That’s right…I remember that he managed to obtain the Holy Sword of Gerhard Schultz.”

Blood thundered in my ears. That prince again! I knew he would be a thorn in my side, trying to ruin my adventure. I had only heard stories of these Sainted Seven. They were supposed to be long dead, but their weapons were still coveted. I had even thought about obtaining one for myself before I bought my current sword. They were supposed to be lost, but if that Prince had gotten his hands on one…

While I was staring at the two girls, I did not fully see them. I barely registered Silva's head jerk up before she said, “You’re not remembering it right, Heid. That sword was a fake. I beat Anno and he ran away like a coward.”

Heide tilted her head and chewed her lip as a shadow of doubt fell over her beauty. “Yes. I think you are right… You slashed him. He turned tail. And…” Heide clutched at her temples, “Oh! Why can’t I remember?!”

Gertrude spoke from my right. “It’s alright, Heide. You’re doing your best. I’m just glad to see you and Silva safe.”

Heide looked up at her and smiled. “Thank you, Gertrude.” Her smile faded as she saw the look on my face.

I was seething. “And then…? Where did he go? Where is Lina?”

Heide quailed at my gaze. “I don’t…know.” she said, “I’m sorry, love.”

Again with the infernal pet names! I like them most of the time, but not now. Not when I couldn’t get a straight answer out of either of them. “They’re still at Justice, aren’t they?”

Heide looked lost. Her eyes were darting in all directions, and her head moved somewhere between a nod yes and a shake no. “I… can’t…”

“Let me guess: You can’t remember.” My jaw clenched. Why are they so useless! “Fine, since all of you can’t seem to handle one measly guy, I’ll have to go myself!” I should have done this from the beginning. What an idiot I was, thinking that I could rely on others. Plus, I could vent my frustration on that weirdo horse sheriff.

Silva tensed, “You can’t.”

I stared at her. “Why not?” In contrast with Heide, who was twitchier than a rabbit, Silva was still. Even her eyes did not move as she stared at me with intensity.

“I just remembered. Anno—the prince, I mean. He had a telestone.”

I could do nothing but stare at her in disbelief. “What?” I managed eventually.

Heide looked just as surprised. “He did?”

Silva nodded. “I saw it myself. He took it out, grabbed Lina and disappeared.”

It took me a few seconds to process her story. “Where could he possibly have gotten one of those?”

I made sure to collect as many of those stupid blue rocks as possible. I even stole the entire hoard from Ald Alira before I left there. Those things were way too useful to just leave lying around. Especially for those as well-traveled as High Prince Bastian. I did not need someone like him constantly on my tail.

Silva gave an annoyed shrug. “Same place he got that fake sword, I don’t know! You think I spend my time spying on that idiot? He’s not worth it.”

She had a point. Who cared how he had gotten hold of such a rare item; what was more important was what he was going to do with it? “Do you think he’ll come here?”

Again, she shrugged. “Probably not. If I know Anno, he’ll run away for as long as he can. He’ll never do anything to risk his life.”

I cast my eyes downward. That was not the impression I had of the prince. He may have been arrogant and a jerk, but a coward? Well, whatever, Silva had known him longer than I ever would.

“So, you mean to tell me,” I said, “That he could be anywhere in Rhine?”

Silva nodded, “It’s unfortunate. But he got one over me this time. Next time, though, I’ll pay him back for disrespecting you, that’s a promise.” She grinned her foxish grin. “We will get Lina back.”

“Next time, eh?” My gaze was cold as I stared down at her. “Do you think you even deserve a next time?”

Silva’s smile did not falter as she stood, she was the same height as me, maybe even taller. “You’ve always been one for second chances, Hero. I gave you one when we first met, and look at us now.”

Her smile became affectionate as she gazed at me. Behind her, Heide was still sitting on the ground, though she grunted with effort as she tried to rise. “Oh, dear. It seems I’m having trouble standing. Curse these weak legs.” She looked up at me with longing. “I think I need some assistance.”

Behind the pleading, I could sense a twinge of jealousy, which made me happy. The girls were always more loving when they got competitive. Before I could respond, Gertrude stepped forward, offering a hand. “Here! I’ll help you, Heide.”

Heide did her best to hide her irritation behind a gracious smile, but the vein rising on her temple was a dead giveaway. “Oh, no, that’s quite alright, Gertrude dear, I was hoping for a stronger—”

“Gertrude!” Silva’s sharp interjection made the other girls jump. All the blood had drained from her already pale face. Even I gave her a startled look. Silva bore no trace of a smile as she stared at Gertrude or, more specifically, at Gertrude’s arm.

The bruise I had given her was very much visible as it had crept up her hand, so that the bottom half of her palm was black.

Gertrude’s arm retreated back underneath her shawl, but then reemerged as she showed it off to us. She smiled. “What? This? It was my fault. I fell and sprained it a while ago.”

“But you’re bleeding!” said Heide, forgetting herself and rising to stand beside Silva. “Here let me see it.” She reached out a hand.

Gertrude continued to smile, but took a step back from Heide. “That’s okay. I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt, really—OW! Silva! What are you—? Stop!”

Silva had wordlessly seized Gertrude’s arm and ripped the armband off her wrist, exposing the shackle scar and the full bruise. Her entire forearm was black and blue. But within that blackness lay an even darker bruise in the distinct shape of four fingers and a thumb.

I had never before seen a person look more bestial than Silva at the moment she turned and looked at me. Her teeth were bared and her eyes were that of a starving Shewolf who had found her prey. It only lasted a moment before her face morphed back into a smile, though it was much toothier than before, as if her fangs were still bared.

“I see… You just sprained your wrist,” she said, “Don’t worry, Gertrude. We’ll take care of it.”

Not once did her eyes leave me. She turned to face me fully. I could see that her body quivered. “Did you know she was hurt?”

Her tone was pointed, but I chose to ignore it as I smiled at her. “I did, but I didn’t know how badly. Gertrude’s always been strong, so she must have been toughing out the pain. Haven’t you, Gertrude?”

Gertrude nodded brightly. “I didn’t want to worry anyone.” She became sad, even her pigtails drooped. “Sorry.”

Heide looked relieved, “You don’t need to apologize, Gertrude.”

“You never need to apologize.” added Silva.

She looked ready to pounce, but I wasn’t worried in the slightest. Silva was always like this, trying to find any excuse to get angry at me. But that was how she showed her affection. She was the very definition of a tsundere.

Besides, even if she were truly angry, there was nothing she could do to me. I summoned her stat chart and read the following:

Strength: 322

Defense: 190

Speed: 291

Magic: 2

Charisma: 52

Dexterity: 289

Perception: 495

Stamina: 217

Pitiful numbers. They were much higher than a normal person, especially that perception stat, but Silva’s numbers were nothing compared to mine. If she were to fight me, I would destroy her. Not that I wanted to, Silva was a real prize. Nowhere near Lina, but she was special in her own right.

Silva’s smile widened back into foxish territory, “You’re doing it again, aren’t you?” she murmured, “You’ve got that look on your face.” She closed the gap between us. I felt a shiver up my back. Silva leaned forward and tickled my ear with her breath as she whispered. “Like what you see?”

I swallowed. Her perception was no joke. As my first party member, Silva was the only person I ever told about my ability to read stats, which might have been a mistake in hindsight as she quickly became obsessed with growing each number. She even found a way to get two points in magic just because she did not want to have a zero for any stat.

Silva leaned even closer, her fingers brushing my left wrist. Her whisper was quieter than ever, “Don’t lose faith in me yet. I’m growing stronger every day. Just for you.”

She closed her finger around my wrist and squeezed hard. It didn’t hurt, but I could still feel the strength in her grip, and in her next words as she hissed them through gritted teeth. “And when I do. I’ll–”

Gertrude interrupted her with an impatient groan. “No fair, Silva! Stop trying to hog him for yourself!”

Heide made a noise of assent, her eyes narrowed while she watched Silva with plain jealousy all over her face.

I felt Silva’s head turn away to look at them. I could not see her face from this angle, but I could picture her giving the other girls a smug look. “Sorry, Gertrude, Heide,” she said, “I forgot myself for a second.”

Her fingers fell from my wrist and backed away, but not before one final whisper, “Keep your hands off them.”

When she was far enough away for me to see her, Silva was smiling. “You promised, remember?” Her hand rested on the pommel of her sword. She was lucky I knew her so well—and that she was pretty—or I might have taken that as a threat.

I smiled back at her, “I don’t think the others mind if I accidentally get too handsy, don’t you, girls?”

Gertrude giggled, “I don’t mind!” She began to skip away, pigtails bouncing with every hop. Heide flashed me a serene smile.

“As a Lady of Blumentau, I cannot condone such crude behavior.” Her smile became less innocent as she pressed a hand to her face. “But if it’s just an accident…”

Silva’s eyes widened at that, her eyebrows furrowing into a tight knot.

Before she could say anything, I heard Gertrude calling to us. “C’mon everyone! Let’s figure out how to get Lina back from that awful prince!”

Silva seemed to come to herself. “Right. But first, let’s take care of that arm of yours!”

Gertrude’s face soured, “Aw, but I told you I was fine…”

Silva scowled and folded her arms, which was her way of saying you’ll do what I tell you and that’s final.

The other girl rolled her yellow eyes, “Okay. But we can't wait too long. We need Lina back as soon as possible or we can’t get married!”

I couldn’t have agreed more! But I was not as impatient as Gertrude. Though Lina had escaped for now to who knows where, it would only be a matter of time before we found them. Or they found us. And though I did not know where the prince and his followers had stolen Lina to, I did know the general whereabouts of High Prince Bastian. At the very least, I could dispose of him before he became more of a nuisance. If he managed to reunite with Lina… I shuddered to even think of it.

I distracted myself by watching my girls walk away, following after Gertrude, who resumed her skipping. Heide gave me a sidelong glance and a smile as she sashayed away. It wasn’t for long, however, as Silva pushed her forward with a hand to her back.

Heide stumbled and shot her a dirty look. Silva didn’t seem too bothered by this. “Move it or lose it, princess,” she said, “You’re too much of a mess for that to work on anyone.”

Silva also took a moment to glance at me, though it was less playful than Heide and more like she was looking at a pile of Kobold droppings.

I shrugged at her and tried to catch up, but Silva draped an arm across Heide’s shoulders and quickened their pace. Heide protested and tried to free herself, but Silva ignored her and kept her hold firm.

While I did manage to catch up with my superior speed, I found that, no matter where I tried to walk, Silva was always between me and the others. Even when Gertrude tried to join me at my side, Silva was there like an impenetrable wall.

Classic Silva, I thought with a smile. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a touch of annoyance even as I gave up my attempt to walk beside them. That girl was never honest with her feelings, but they always came through in her actions. I guess she wanted me all to herself. I could respect that for now, but I was eager to one day crack that tough shell of her. I longed for the day that she would pine after me, like the others.

And when she did, oh boy, would I laud it over the prince for the rest of his life, short as it would be. I could always haunt his dreams with the image every night when I found him, but I think I’d rather show her off in person to break his fragile ego.

That would be the least of his punishment for stealing Lina from me; and for getting in my way. I found myself growing excited as I began picturing all the ways I would exact my vengeance on that pathetic little prince when I found him again. It didn’t matter if he may have found a weapon of the Sainted Seven, my nearly maxed out stats would more than outclass any magic. I was so close to reaching my full potential in this world, I was beginning to picture how I would break my limits in the next world; one of my own creation. I could even become a god!

But I couldn’t get too ahead of myself. For now, though, maybe that prince needed a reminder of who the real hero was. As did the rest of the world.

End of Part 1- The Kingdom of Cross