By the Grace of the Gods

“Hero?”

A name came up that didn’t quite fit the image we had gotten from Gain and the others’ stories.

“It’s natural to be suspicious. Because it’s sort of a self-proclaimed title.”

“Oh, it’s self-proclaimed?”

“Although he spread it himself, eventually many people started to call him that, so even we say ‘hero’ when referring to him personally… but we never actually assigned him the role of hero.”

“There were twists and turns before the people began calling him hero, but to keep it simple, I’ll tell it in chronological order.”

Following Lurutia and Kufo, whose faces clearly said “reluctantly,” Gain began to speak.

“First, he came to this world just after finishing middle school and right before entering high school. He had problems at home, but he was such a straightforward, cheerful boy that you wouldn’t guess it.

He was academically excellent, good-looking, and had leadership skills, earning him the trust of classmates and teachers alike. He even served as a discipline committee member and student council president throughout elementary and middle school.”

“Just hearing about his background before reincarnation makes him sound like an outstanding kid.”

“That’s exactly what he was. And a good kid, too. Not hiding his true nature — he really was.”

“But maybe because he was so good… back then, wars were breaking out in many places. At first, there were people to protect him, and he was sent to a safe place away from the war zones. But he said ‘I want to join up with the people who transferred before me!’ and ‘I want to stop the war by working together!’ and ended up becoming a mercenary.”

He must have had the resolve to actually throw himself into battle, not just talk the talk. Perhaps when he transferred, he gained an exceptionally strong power? Also, since he came right before starting high school, he was still a child… he gives off a reckless impression, but he does fit the mold of a hero.

“At the time, we were a little panicked too. Since we summoned him during an era when war raged everywhere, we made sure to give him abilities to survive on the battlefield. But even so, there was no need for him to throw himself into the battlefield himself.”

“If he went of his own will, we can’t stop him. And since he came here by himself like Ryoma-kun, we couldn’t even deliver our words to him…”

“We could ask a cleric who can receive the Divine Decree to send a message, but doing so would cause a big fuss. Given the situation, he could have been pulled into battle as a powerful weapon without consent.”

“So that kid went to the battlefield... but he survived, right?”

Kiriluel answered the question.

“He persisted and survived. But battlefields drive even well-trained adult soldiers mad. Even with strong powers, he endured agonies that could kill him. At first, he regretted not having enough resolve.

But by combining the powers we gave him with his natural brightness and judgment, he began to stand out in the mercenary group, led his own unit, and steadily rose through the ranks. Honestly, until that point, we were rooting for him.”

“The problem came later. After the mercenary leader and executives died in battle, he took over as leader, and he gradually started to act strangely.”

According to Meltrise, the hero had the power to survive even by moving through battlefields as a transferee. But his comrades were different. As the mercenary group’s fame grew and it absorbed other mercenaries, expanding in size… their involvement in larger battles increased, and so did the casualties.

There were also human relationship troubles: jealousy toward the young leader, friction between veteran and new members, worries about funding, managing the group, making decisions as a leader. Being constantly exposed to life-threatening danger, his suffering was immeasurable.

“He was definitely troubled. They say he even resorted to necromancy and cursed arts because he thought the powers we gave him weren’t enough.”