Chapter 143 – The Reincarnated (2)

Benedict, the priest, wanted to return to the capital with me and Yerim.

“Since the new hero party has failed, the two of you should return to the capital and receive the blessings of the gods at the Grand Temple. Since the new hero and the saintess were originally part of the same party, there couldn’t be a better time to form a new hero party.”

“Are you saying the previous hero party is disposable?”

“No, that’s not the case. The hero and the saintess receive the same blessings from the gods and support from the temple as any other heroes. It’s just that, fortunately, the gods have prepared for the worst-case scenario.”

While the temple might not have discriminated, it was clear that others did. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have prepared for a nuclear missile strike.

Even though the hero party hadn’t all died, the U.S. launched a nuclear missile at Pyongyang after their failure. If they truly valued the hero and his party, they wouldn’t have done such a thing.

The nuclear missile strike wasn’t a decision made by the U.S. alone. The Empire and the expeditionary forces were also aware, which is why they sent me, a hero candidate, and Yerim, a potential saintess, to Seoul, away from the nuclear fallout.

Instead of sending powerful individuals to accompany the hero, they sent a large number of knights and mages for the same reason. It was clear that they were using the young hero and saintess as bait to lure out the Demon King.

Using the hero as bait to draw out the Demon King—this was something I hadn’t even considered. Without the existence of nuclear weapons, such a plan would have been unthinkable. And if the previous hero hadn’t died so pointlessly to modern weapons, the Empire and the expeditionary forces would never have agreed to such a plan.

Moreover, with the prophecy that there were more hero candidates, the Grand Temple likely agreed to it as well. In the end, it was a ridiculous situation, but when you break it down, it was entirely plausible.

Except that the target was me.

This was even more absurd than when I found out Yerim was a potential saintess. After regaining my memories of my past life, I had wondered if I might be someone special, shouting “Status Window” multiple times. But now, after letting go of everything, I was told I was a hero candidate.

Honestly, hearing that I was a hero candidate didn’t feel bad. It meant that all the hardships I’d endured weren’t in vain, and that remembering my past life wasn’t useless either. Of course, I was also very happy to be a hero candidate.

Every knight on the continent aspired to be a hero, and I was no different. But they told me this too late.

With a shocked expression, I turned to the U.S. officer who was staring at us and asked, “So, did the hero party in Pyongyang all die?”

“Not all of them. According to the footage taken before the satellite fell, the hero, the saintess, and a couple of their party members managed to take shelter underground.”

“So the hero isn’t dead.”

“But even so, the Demon King is there. They won’t last long.”

Benedict quickly interjected, sensing something strange in my words. “The Demon King won’t be able to act. He used the energy from the nuclear missile to cast a meteor spell and bring down the satellites. Even the Demon King wouldn’t be able to use such magic and remain unscathed.”

Zahina nodded in agreement, and Benedict had no response.

“The mummy-like creature wrapped in bandages also disappeared at the end,” added the U.S. officer, who had received the final communication from the fleet.

Finally, Benedict asked me, “You’re not thinking of saving the hero, are you?”

If I had been told I was a hero candidate when I became a free knight or when I first regained my memories of my past life, I would have gladly accepted the divine blessing and become a hero. But too much time had passed.

Having fought the Demon King’s army for so long, I knew what reality was like. I knew that becoming a hero didn’t mean living a life full of glory. In fact, it was more likely that I would end up as cannon fodder, fighting until I died.

Of course, there were heroes who defeated the Demon King and restored the crumbling Empire, becoming emperors themselves. But those heroes were nobles from the start, the sons of dukes. They were completely different from me, the son of a low-ranking knight.

I didn’t need that kind of power or glory. What I wanted was a peaceful and comfortable life—a life as the lord of a manor or a small territory. I had no desire to become the sword of the royal family or a lackey of the nobles, wielding my sword for the rest of my life.

I answered Benedict’s question with sincerity: “If the hero and saintess are alive, we should save them.”

Fighting the Demon King is the hero’s job. As long as the hero is still alive, there’s no need to choose a new one. That’s why we had to save the hero in danger.

My words caused quite a stir among the U.S. military and the expeditionary force command, but they couldn’t make a decision. In the end, it was decided that my party would be sent to the fleet to await further orders from headquarters.

We boarded a landing craft moored on the banks of the Han River and headed down the river. The hovercraft carrying us sped down the Han River at top speed.

Inside the hovercraft, Benedict was deep in thought, and the rest of the party was lost in their own reflections.

Breaking the silence, I spoke to the party members: “This is dangerous, so anyone can opt out.”

Everyone turned to look at me. Their expressions were mixed with various emotions.

Hoffman was the first to speak: “If it’s dangerous, maybe you shouldn’t go either, sir.”

Hoffman wasn’t wrong. If I weren’t a hero candidate, that is.

“If I don’t go, they’ll abandon the hero party.”

Hoffman seemed to realize something. “Is that how it is?”

“The U.S. might not care, but the expeditionary forces will only move to save the hero if I go.”

Hoffman nodded cautiously and then asked, “Do you have any intention of becoming a hero?”

I chuckled at his question. “Do I look like I want to be a hero?”

“Ah… right. You wanted to retire and build a manor, didn’t you? Then there’s no way out. This is a dead end.”

After some thought, Hoffman finally scratched his head. “I’ll go. I’ve always wanted to see Pyongyang. Plus, being part of a rescue team for the hero and saintess is a big deal. And I don’t want to be a saintess either.”

Yerim shuddered at the mention of being a saintess. Like me, who remembered my past life, Yerim, a native of this world, didn’t seem to have any desire to become a saintess.

“I saw it at the Grand Temple. If you become a saintess, you have to pray every day, attend services, and live a proper, dignified life. I can’t live like that!”

From what I could see, Yerim would have a hard time living like a saintess. That’s why she was happy when the Grand Temple let her go.

After Yerim finished speaking, Zahina spoke up: “I was originally tasked with guiding the hero party. As the daughter of the divine tree, I can’t stay out of rescuing a new hero party after failing my mission.”

Hoffman sighed at Zahina’s words. “If everyone’s going, I can’t stay behind either. Wait a minute—you’re not leaving the spatial expansion pouch behind, are you?”

I nodded. “I’m taking it with me.”

It contained all our weapons and valuables, so there was no way I’d leave it behind.

“Then I have to follow. It’s got everything in it.”

As Hoffman said, all the gold bars we’d found were in the pouch.

“I can give you your share now if you want.”

Since Hoffman didn’t have a spatial expansion pouch, I couldn’t give him his full share, but I could still give him a significant amount of gold bars to fill a regular backpack.

“No, if I’m going to get my share, I should risk my life.”

I waved my hand at Hoffman’s words.

And so, the entire party decided to go to Pyongyang.

At that moment, Benedict, who had been listening to our conversation, suddenly shouted, “It’s dangerous! Even if the Demon King isn’t visible now, that place is still his stronghold!”

He was right. Pyongyang had become the Demon King’s stronghold, his city. But according to the satellite images, the hero and saintess weren’t on the surface of Pyongyang. They were underground, in the Pyongyang subway, which had been famous even in my past life.

—

A light appeared in the dark tunnel.

It was a light created by the saintess’s divine power.

Under the dim light, three people walked along the railway tracks. They were the hero, the saintess, and Park Seung-ah, a psychic from this world who had dug a hole to bring the two of them underground.

Both the hero and the saintess looked uneasy, but Seung-ah’s face was pale with fear. No matter how skilled she was as a psychic, digging a hole all the way to North Korea’s subway system wasn’t an easy task.

Seung-ah tried to move a few stones on the tracks and sighed. “I’ve reached my limit. I can’t even move a pebble now.”

It was clear that digging a hole to save the hero and saintess had pushed her abilities beyond their limits. It was only natural that she wouldn’t be able to use her powers for a while.

But she couldn’t complain to the two people beside her.

‘They said they were the saintess and the hero, but they’re just kids!’

The saintess and hero she had saved were, contrary to what she had heard, just teenagers. A boy and a girl, terrified by the dark tunnel.

Looking at them, she couldn’t help but think of the knight she had been chasing.

‘I made the wrong choice again. I should have followed that knight. I was fooled by the title of hero.’

Seung-ah sighed at her poor decision-making. She had chosen the wrong lover, and now she had chosen the wrong person to follow.

On top of that, after things went wrong, she had brought the saintess and hero underground, but now it seemed like she might end up babysitting them.

‘Babysitting would be the best-case scenario. If things go wrong, it’ll be a death sentence.’

Looking at the frightened hero and saintess, she thought of that knight again.

‘That knight was so mature…’

Unlike the frightened hero, that knight would have figured things out on his own.

But he wasn’t here.

Seung-ah forced herself to stand up. “We need to get out of here. Let’s move.”

They were close to the Ryugyong Hotel, where the Demon King was. They had to get away from this place.

Seung-ah moved her exhausted body and walked along the path. The hero and saintess followed behind her.