The Hero Menace Read online

  “Why didn’t you contact my subordinates to start with? It would have saved you so much trouble.”

  “I’m sorry, but it’s your fault for looking so suspicious.”

  “I won’t deny that I can occasionally be duplicitous, but why would I betray you when there’s no profit in it for me? I’m hurt that you think so little of me.”

  So he doesn’t care that I think he’s suspicious, he cares that I’m implying he’d make an unprofitable deal?

  “In my opinion, those who cannot take into account the costs and benefits of their actions are even worse than greedy cowards. When you fail to take the most profitable action at every juncture is when you fail as a merchant.”

  “I-I see. Sorry I misjudged you.”

  Why am I the one stuck apologizing? To make matters worse, my subordinates started grumbling about my decisions too.

  “Hey, did you hear? Our commander ran off to the north.”

  “Even though he’s supposed to be overseeing the southern front, he was playing around in the north...”

  “Wait, I thought he went there to kill the fake Hero?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  The least you could do is not say this stuff right outside my office. I can hear you, you know. You’re just making it hard for me to concentrate on work.

  “Oh yeah, what’s with that girl the commander captured?”

  “Apparently she was one of the fake Hero’s comrades.”

  “Our boss sure does some crazy stuff.”

  Go somewhere else already! I honestly wanted to tell them off, but nothing they’d said was technically wrong, so I couldn’t.

  “Our commander’s crazy strong, even for a werewolf. He gets himself out of all kinds of messed-up situations on his strength alone, which is why he’s so reckless.”

  “I guess it’s up to us to have his back then. We can’t have him dying on us.”

  “Yeah, no way we can let him die. The future of the demon race’s riding on his shoulders.”

  Is it just me, or are they treating me like a problem child who needs to be looked after? Well, whatever. Right now I need to figure out how to deal with the “Holy Priestess” Mildine.

  “My name’s... not actually Mildine...” The Holy Priestess that I’d brought to my room mumbled. “It’s Lacy. And I’m just a court magician, not a Holy Priestess...”

  So Mildine was just an alias?

  “My family was poor, so the only way I could afford to study magic was by earning a Senate-sponsored scholarship. But in return for waiving my schooling fees, I had to work for them for a few years. That’s the only reason I’m here...”

  Alright, alright, I get it, so stop crying. From the looks of it, she’d had her fair share of troubles too.

  “I get that you had no choice in the matter, but surely even the Senate realized how much political backlash there would be if word got out that the Hero was a fake?”

  “Th-They did...” Lacy nodded, and continued, “That was why the plan was to dispose of Ranhart after he’d fulfilled his purpose and claim that he’d died in battle.”

  “The Senate does stuff like that?”

  “If the Hero became so popular that his clout eclipsed that of the government’s, they’d no longer be able to control him, so that was what they decided.”

  Damn, the Meraldian Senate’s scary.

  “Oh, we weren’t planning on actually killing him, if that’s what you’re thinking. The idea was to remove him from the public eye after saying he challenged the Demon Lord and lost. Then we’d use his supposed death to raise morale.”

  I see. So they were going to fake his death and turn him into a martyr for the cause. As I digested that piece of information, Lacy looked timidly up at me and asked, “Umm...”

  “Yes?”

  “Were they strong?”

  She was referring to the three men I’d killed. Had I known they were actually fakes, I probably wouldn’t have even killed them. They would have been more valuable to me alive. That being said, it wasn’t a fight where I could afford to hold back. While they may have been bolstered with magic artifacts, they’d been pretty strong in their own right. On top of that, they’d been quite proficient with the artifacts in their possession. Your average foot soldier would never have gotten close to hitting me, magic sword or no. They may have been my enemies, but they had also been valiant men. So there was no need for me to lie for Lacy’s sake.

  “If I’d made even a single misstep, I’d have died during that fight. Naturally their magic artifacts made them stronger, but even without them, those three were skilled fighters. In fact, I wish I could have recruited them to my side.”

  “I see... I’m glad to hear that.” Lacy breathed a sigh of relief. “From the start, those three had been prepared for death. But they’d told me that if they were going to die, they at least wanted to die as heroes.”

  Stop, now you’re just making me feel guilty.

  “By the way, does this mean the Hero’s real name wasn’t Ranhart either? I forget which of the three was him.”

  “That’s right. And all three of them pretended to play the part of Ranhart at different times. That way, even if one of them died unexpectedly, we’d be able to continue the ruse that the Hero was still alive.”

  They had really thought this entire ruse through. It showed just how much the Senate had been scrambling for a way to raise morale. Lacy looked down again and muttered quietly, “The three of them were good, kind men. I only knew them a short time, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to fight alongside each other.”

  They might have been good people, but that didn’t change the fact that they’d been my enemies. And the fun adventures Lacy had had alongside them mostly consisted of killing my comrades. Naturally, I didn’t say that, but my thoughts must have shown on my face. Lacy went pale and bowed her head over and over.

  “M-My apologies. I know they were your enemies.”

  “It’s fine. They may have been my foes, but they were also your precious comrades. I may just be a lowly demon in the demon army, but I’m sure to you I’m the evillest of the lot.”

  At that, Lacy tilted her head in confusion.

  “Are you really that unimportant?”

  “That I am. There’s plenty of other vice-commanders in the demon army.”

  Still looking confused, Lacy fished through her pockets and pulled out a tiny scrap of paper.

  “Take a look at this. It’s a wanted poster the Senate’s posted throughout Meraldia.”

  “Hm?”

  [Wanted: Werewolf King Veight]

  Reward: 70,000 silver coins

  Points of note:

  -Conquered Ryunheit and is one of the demon army’s strongest generals-

  -Is also responsible for the annihilation of Thuvan-

  -Is an accomplished mage, skilled in necromancy, strengthening magic, and destruction magic-

  -Appears as an unassuming black-haired young man in his human form-

  -Is known to be invincible to arrows-

  -Has claws powerful enough to shatter castle walls-

  -His howl is deadly; those who hear it are killed instantly-

  -Anyone he bites is turned into a werewolf-

  -No one has fought him and survived to tell the tale-

  “What kind of nonsense is this...”

  There were so many things wrong with this poster that I didn’t even know where to start. Besides, didn’t ‘No one has fought him and survived to tell the tale’ and ‘Anyone he bites is turned into a werewolf’ contradict each other? What, did they think I ran around biting people without fighting them? As I glared at the wanted poster, Lacy stood up in a panic and hurriedly explained, “Umm, th-that poster is why I thought you were one of the Demon Lord’s main generals. I wasn’t trying to offend you...”

  “Oh, I’m not mad at you specifically or anything. Though I would very much like to meet the person who made this wanted poster.”

 
Considering how many other rumors and half-truths they’d stuck into this poster, I figured I could maybe convince them to add ‘Is exceptionally handsome’ to the list of points to note. Lacy went white as a sheet. It appeared she’d taken my words the wrong way.

  “S-S-Sorry... I was told as a child that I was too insensitive to other people’s feelings. Please don’t eat me...”

  She certainly didn’t seem like she was good at reading the mood. I could more or less guess why the Senate had pushed the job of babysitting the fake Heroes onto her. Still, to think I have a 70,000 coin bounty on my head... One silver coin was enough to feed and house a man for a day. Even if someone splurged and used two coins a day, that would still be enough money to let them live comfortably for 100 years. Maybe I should fake my death and have one of my men collect the reward for me. I continued reading through the list of wanted criminals, and noticed our esteemed Demon Ambassador Airia had a bounty on her head too.

  [Wanted: Traitor and former Viceroy Airia Lutt Aindorf]

  Reward: 100,000 silver coins

  Points of note:

  -A beautiful woman who often dresses in men’s clothes-

  -Former Viscount; now stripped of her rank-

  -A recognized master of the Sashimael Style of Fencing; her title of swordsmaster has been revoked-

  -An accredited Maykhara tea ceremony maestro; her title of maestro has been revoked-

  -A graduate of Meraldia’s military academy; her credentials have been revoked-

  -Former licensed Meraldian merchant; her license has been revoked-

  She was quite the multi-talented noble, though all of her qualifications and rights had now been revoked. If you crossed off all rights she’d been stripped of, all that was left was ‘A beautiful woman who dresses in men’s clothes.’ Meraldia sure hated her guts. Her bounty was even higher than mine. She probably already knew about the bounty, but I reminded myself to tell her later just in case. First, though, I needed to figure out what to do with Lacy.

  “Do you want to return to the Senate?”

  “I do, but even if I went back, I’d probably just be executed for my failure...”

  She had a point there. Guess I have no choice but to look after her.

  “Would you like to live here in Ryunheit, then? Considering how talented you are, I wouldn’t mind hiring you myself.”

  “Th-That seems best... Just don’t be too hard on me, please.”

  The former fake Holy Priestess politely bowed her head to me.

  Around the time the fierce fighting on the northern front began to turn into a slow battle of attrition, those who had left Ryunheit started trickling back to the city. It appeared they’d been unable to find any other place to take them in, and so were returning here.

  “Can you believe it, Sir Veight!?”

  I met the travel-worn citizens on the first floor, which had turned into a makeshift audience hall.

  “Those heartless monsters treated me like part of the demon army just because I’d come from Ryunheit! Look at my carriage!”

  He pointed out the window, and I spotted two arrows sticking out of the canvas of the carriage outside.

  “They shot arrows at us and demanded we get lost!”

  “That... certainly sounds terrible.”

  The merchants who’d left had probably been able to find their way into other cities using their connections or bribing their way in, but regular citizens didn’t have that option. Still, I didn’t think the remaining cities would go so far as to fire warning shots at them.

  “Please crush those bastards for us!”

  “Just whose side are you on?”

  At any rate, it appeared Ryunheit’s refugees weren’t welcome anywhere. Of the hundred or so who’d left, the vast majority returned. The remainder were likely still searching for a place to take them in, or had met an unfortunate end during their travels. My guess was very few of them had managed to emigrate successfully.

  As I’d hoped though, the citizens who returned brought with them valuable information. Most of it had been filtered through their own biases, but it was information nonetheless. When I told the citizens I’d return their homes and fields to them, they broke down in tears and started thanking me profusely.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much... If you’d turned me away here, I’d have been doomed to wander the wastes until I died... I’ll never forget your generosity.”

  “You can all rest easy. Ryunheit will never abandon one of its own.”

  One of the returnees grabbed my hand and started shaking it over and over.

  “Thank you so much, Sir Veight! We’ll help you however we can in teaching those ungrateful wretches what it means to oppose Ryunheit!”

  Seriously, it’s because you guys are like this that no one wanted to take you in.

  After that particular incident, Lacy took up her post in the demon army not as a Holy Priestess, but as a regular old illusionist. I’d seen what she was capable of, so I knew she’d be a valuable asset. On top of that, because she required our protection to survive, there was little chance she would betray us.

  A few days later, the Demon Lord officially awarded her a title and rank. That made her the second human to officially join the demon army. Unlike Airia, however, she was just a regular foot soldier. Still, I was glad the number of humans in our ranks was growing.

  “Oho, so you think so as well?”

  “Yes, I wouldn’t like it either.”

  As I was going through today’s stack of paperwork, I heard Lacy and Master talking to each other in the next room over. From the sound of it, they were getting along well. Master was normally shy around new people, but she had no problem talking with other mages. Curious about what kinds of things an illusionist and a necromancer might be discussing, I poked my head through the open door.

  “In that case, would you rather have a hearty meal together with your colleagues, or eat a sandwich alone in the corner of the library?”

  What kind of question is that? Obviously, you’d want the hearty meal, right? Food was all about quantity. The more the better.

  “You would have to be a fool not to choose the sandwich option, no?”

  “I knew you’d get me!”

  “There is nothing more soothing than enjoying a sandwich in a dim corner, surrounded by one’s research...”

  I don’t get these two at all. I stared at the two of them, dumbfounded. Just then, Master noticed I was standing there, and turned around. “Oh, Veight. This girl you’ve brought me is quite promising. I see much potential in her.”

  “What exactly are you referring to when you say potential?”

  Please don’t refine her potential as a loner. Lacy grinned, and took Master’s hand.

  “Mister Veight, Lady Gomoviroa’s so nice! I didn’t think we’d get along this well!”

  Now that I think about it... these two are both the same brand of antisocial, huh...

  Master nodded in agreement and said, “I am thinking of formally adopting Lacy as one of my disciples. I happen to know a few illusion spells that have been lost to human scholars, so I believe it is not a bad proposal for you either, Lacy. What do you say?”

  “I’d love to be your disciple, Lady Gomoviroa!”

  “Good, good. In that case, you may now call me Movi!”

  “Of course, Master Movi!”

  “Mmm, that has a nice ring to it.”

  This is starting to give me a headache. I’m just going to go back to work.

  I was both happy and a little apprehensive at having another fellow disciple joining our ranks, but the one thing I was unequivocally grateful for was the information Lacy provided me.

  “Do you know about Shardier, the city that lies east of Ryunheit?”

  “Of course. It’s pretty far from us, but it’s like our eastern sister.”

  Like Ryunheit, Shardier was a trading hub. Both cities relied on mineral resources for their profits. The raw ore dug up in the Bortze region in the
north was sent south to be refined and processed in Thuvan, then shipped even further south to Ryunheit, where it was loaded up on caravans and sent to the various cities dotting the southern half of the continent. Shardier happened to be the perfect midway point between Ryunheit and the cities further to the east, outside of the Meraldia Federation. The entire route was similar to the silk road back on earth, with Shardier functioning as one of the relay cities.

  There also happened to be bad blood between Shardier and the north. Due to some incidents that had occurred during the Meraldian Unification War, Shardier resented its northern neighbors.

  “Rumors have been going around that Shardier’s planning on doing the same thing as Ryunheit and declare independence from Meraldia.”

  “Oi, oi, if Shardier declares independence right now, they’ll be crushed.”

  “Perhaps, but these rumors have made the Senate worried. They fear if they leave the situation alone, all of southern Meraldia will capitulate to the demon army. Part of the reason they came up with the fake Hero ploy was because of that fear.”

  Regardless of how much Shardier hated the north though, their only hope for survival right now was to maintain the status quo. Joining the demon army would take a great deal of resolve on their part. Unless they were willing to trust us unconditionally, they were better off remaining with Meraldia.

  However, Lacy’s information did match up with what some of the citizens who’d sought refuge in Shardier had told me. They’d been denied entry of course, which was why they’d returned, but apparently Shardier’s viceroy had been acting strangely as of late. And when Meraldia requested that Shardier house its regular army, Shardier refused.

  Both Bernheinen, which lay to Ryunheit’s northwest, and Thuvan, which was to the northeast, were under the demon army’s control. West of Ryunheit was demon territory. That meant that any attempt to recapture Ryunheit would have to come from either the east or the south. Of the two directions, east was a far better choice, strategically. Attacking from the south would require making too large of a detour. Despite that, Shardier had refused to let Meraldia station its troops there.