I’m a Hero, but I might die because I forgot something.
I managed to defeat the Evil God—the mastermind behind everything—but now I can’t escape the collapsing final dungeon.
“What’s wrong, Yoshito-sama?! We need to get back to the surface, quickly!”
“Damn it, it’s collapsing everywhere! If we stand around doing nothing, we’re not gonna make it!”
“Hero! Surely you do not intend to remain here!?”
Every one of my companions had a 「Return Orb」. It was a convenient little item that could teleport its user straight to the surface. The catch was that each gem could only transport one person.
Strange….
Mine wasn’t in my bag.
No way… did I leave it at the inn?
I’d checked for anything I might have forgotten before we set out, but maybe I’d somehow forgotten to put the gem back in my bag.
Hahaha… I really screwed up.
What the hell am I supposed to do?
“Yoshito-sama!”
“Yoshito!”
“Heroooo!”
“Shut up! Stop rushing me, damn it!”
With cold sweat trickling down my back, I desperately racked my brain for a solution.
1. Make a mad dash for the entrance. —No matter how I looked at it, the dungeon was collapsing faster than I could run.
2. Have someone give me their Return Orb. —Sacrificing one of my companions just because I wanted to save my own skin? That would make me a terrible human being.
3. Pray to the gods for a miracle. —The world isn’t kind enough for things to be solved that easily.
Yeah…
I’m screwed.
Even if I consulted everyone, there probably wasn’t another solution. And besides, we didn’t have that kind of time left. This whole mess had happened because of my own stupidity in the first place. I should be the one to take responsibility.
I am going to die here.
Time to accept it.
Three years had passed since I had been summoned to this other world, and somewhere along the way, my outlook on life and death had become surprisingly dry.
Still…
“Hero died because he forgot something” would be an unbelievably pathetic story to have passed down to future generations.
And my companions would probably feel pretty damn awkward about it, too. We had finally defeated the Evil God. The least I could do was let them return to the surface in triumph, without having to worry about me.
So, with that in mind, I decided to tell them a little lie.
“You guys go on ahead. There’s still something I have to take care of.”
“Something you have to take care of…?”
“There’s no guarantee the Evil God won’t resurrect. …I’ll use my life to make sure he stays sealed.”
“Wait, Yoshito. When you say you’re going to use your life, you mean…”
“Yeah. This is as far as I go. Everyone, I’m counting on you to take care of the world after I’m gone!”
“H-Heroooo!”
“Oh, and the Return Orb is still sitting at the inn. I left it there on purpose, okay! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
Farewell!
I turned and sprinted back toward the deepest part of the dungeon.
No one came after me.
Mission accomplished.
Apparently, my plan—Convince everyone to believe some generic RPG prologue nonsense: “The Hero sealed the Evil God at the cost of his own life”—had worked perfectly.
Heh. I’m starting to scare myself with how good my acting is.
That said, actually dying is even scarier. I’m about to cry.
God, please help me.
As a reward for saving the world, couldn’t you give me a miracle or two?
You know, maybe put them on clearance?
“Ugh… Yeah, right.”
If God were going to swoop in and fix everything for me, there wouldn’t have been any need for a Hero in the first place.
＊＊＊
I returned once again to the lowest level of the dungeon. At the far end stood an altar, and beside it lay the body of a young girl.
Mia Gransfield. The Demon Lord’s daughter.
She had been offered as a sacrifice to the Evil God, who had taken control of her body. If things had gone the way I wanted, I would have saved her. But to save the world, I had no choice but to destroy the Evil God along with her.
“He-… Hero…?”
Wait.
Huh?
S-she’s alive!!?
Could this be the beginning of the *true* final battle!?
The answer was—
No.
I couldn’t sense the Evil God’s presence at all, and Mia seemed to have returned to her senses. Still, I couldn’t imagine what must have been going through her mind.
The Evil God had taken control of her consciousness, and when she finally came to, she was on the verge of death. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been strange for her to completely panic.
And yet…
“Ahaha… What a mess.”
Mia merely gave a gentle, troubled smile.
“I pretended to be dead because I wanted you to escape without worrying about me.”
By the time I defeated the Evil God, the dungeon was already on the verge of collapse. We didn’t have even a moment to spare.
If I had known Mia was still alive… what would I have done?
There was only one answer. I would have done whatever it took to save her. She was nothing more than a victim who had been manipulated by the Evil God. It was wrong for her to die here.
I might even have given her my Return Orb.
Well… In reality, I’d left the damn thing at the inn.
“I… I’m done for. So don’t worry about me…”
“Cough, cough!”
Mia doubled over, coughing violently.
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
“See? You should go now. Okay?”
“…I can’t.”
“Are you feeling sorry for me? You shouldn’t. It’s just a moment of weakness. Come on, hurry and get back to the surface—”
“I forgot my Return Orb. I think I left it at the inn where we stayed last night.”
I told her the truth. There was no chance either of us was getting out of here alive, so there was no point keeping anything from her.
“I see.”
Mia slowly nodded.
“You really are terrible at lying, Hero. But… okay. I’ll believe you.”
Hmm?
Wait a second.
I had a feeling a rather strange misunderstanding was taking shape here.
“You’re going to stay by my side until the very end so I won’t feel lonely, aren’t you?”
“…Thank you. You really are kind, Hero.”
Mia smiled. It was a fragile smile, like the flickering flame of a candle just moments away from going out.
“Or… are you really going to die with me?”
“…Just kidding. I’m kidding. Don’t worry about it.”
“It’s getting cold, though. I want you to hold my hand.”
“Actually… I’ve liked you for a long time, Hero—”
I don’t remember what came after that.
Most likely, the two of us were crushed together beneath the rubble that came crashing down from the ceiling.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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