Hero, Artorius.
I first met him about a year ago.
He was a fool who tagged along with a friend to the capital, Oz, only to accidentally pull the legendary sword and get sweet-talked by the cunning old King Oscar into reluctantly going to kill the Demon King.
I joined the Hero's party on the orders of my Master, the Tower Lord, to support such a fool.
Actually, my first impression of him wasn't bad.
Still, as one of only two men in the party, he often came to me for advice, and because of the six-year age gap, he followed me around calling me 'Hyung, Hyung'.
The incident that critically fractured the relationship between the Hero and me happened when we met Mephisto, the Scarecrow of Death, one of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings.
After steamrolling through everything with overwhelming talent that was practically a cheat code, the Hero was disgracefully defeated by Mephisto, one of the Four Heavenly Kings. He felt the fear of death for the first time in his life and chose to flee.
The one who forcibly dragged the Hero out of his room after he shut himself off due to the shock of defeat was that gorilla guy, who had clearly harbored feelings for him for a long time.
Well, it's an old tale, the story of a man who touched the threshold of death finding peace with a woman's help.
Anyway, thanks to the warrior dedicating her body, the Hero was able to overcome his fear safely, and we could set off on our journey to assassinate the Demon King again.
Actually, if you only look at it up to this point, it would have been a happy ending.
Because the two people who had feelings for each other finally got together because of this.
But what happened afterward was the problem.
They say once a monk tastes meat, no bedbugs are left in the temple, right?
Once the Hero tasted the flavor of a woman's body, he started ditching the party whenever he could to secretly have sex with the warrior. Not only that, but he also hit on the Sage and the Cleric, who, like the warrior, clearly liked him.
Actually, the Cleric didn't even realize he'd been screwed, but one day when I received a heal, its effect was reduced by about 30%. Fuck.
Thanks to that, my potion costs went up.
The bigger problem was that now that all the women in the party belonged to the Hero, they started subtly keeping me in check, being the only other man.
As for me, I thought it was perfectly fine for young people to hit it off and have sex, but the Hero, who had zero dating experience until then, seemed afraid that I would steal the other party members away.
Gradually, over time, his use of polite speech calling me 'Hyung, Hyung' turned into casual remarks like 'Hey' or 'You'. And when I returned after single-handedly clearing out nearby demons whenever I had free time, he stopped saying the usual 'Thank you'.
Hmm. As I explain it, he's become a son of a bitch that 'ungrateful' doesn't even begin to cover, but what can you do?
It's all thanks to the karma points he diligently stacked up.
And I am someone who never forgets a long-standing grudge.
"Well then, I'll leave you two to talk amongst yourselves."
Barnessa, who had kindly guided me here, said that and walked towards the chairs near the entrance of the third floor.
It seemed she would wait there until I finished my business.
I glanced back at Camilla behind me.
"…What is it?"
But judging by her expression, she didn't seem like she'd easily move away like Barnessa.
Well, I won't be discussing anything important, so maybe it's fine.
I called out to the Hero, who was inside the prison, head bowed, not moving a muscle.
"Hey."
"...."
But the Hero, sitting with his back against the wall, didn't react.
Was he knocked out from harsh torture? Or maybe he just fell asleep normally.
But after coming all the way here, there's no way I can just turn back without any results, right?
I subtly glanced at Barnessa sitting near the entrance and snapped my fingers.
Chwaaaah!
Then, as the mana within me transformed, a large amount of cold water poured down onto the Hero's head.
"Kuhuk! Kuhuk!"
Perhaps startled by the sudden cold water shower, the Hero coughed and lifted his bowed head.
"…Kaldraash?"
The Hero's blurry eyes lacked focus and couldn't properly stare at me.
Compared to the others who were relatively unharmed, seeing the Hero so battered and bruised, it seemed he had indeed suffered severe torture.
Well, it's practically the same as being caught red-handed trying to kill the head of state, so not being executed is something to be grateful for.
I waved my hand and greeted the Hero, whose body was tattered and torn, casually.
"Yo, long time no see. Hero. Was the prison food at the Demon King's Castle tasty?"
But his response was cold.
"…Did you come here to mock me?"
He's calmer than I expected.
I thought he'd definitely get angry the moment he saw my face.
I examined the shackles binding his limbs.
Just as the Demon King said, they seemed to be specially processed, causing the mana generated by the Hero's body to constantly disperse outwards instead of condensing.
With that, even the grandfather of all Sword Masters, let alone a mere Sword Master, wouldn't be able to escape.
Since Camilla was watching from the side, I deliberately put on a villainous smile and took a step forward.
"Hero, do you know why you're still alive?"
The Hero remained silent for a moment, then finally opened his dry lips, like a parched field during a drought, and answered.
"It must be because there's some use for me."
Hearing that, I shook my head with exaggerated gestures.
"No, I asked them to spare you. Because I wanted to see with my own eyes you despairing in prison."
Then, the Hero's calm expression contorted.
"…You have bad hobbies."
Instead of answering, I shrugged my shoulders and said to the Hero.
"From now on, I intend to become a loyal watchdog for the Demon King as a mage belonging to the Demon King's army. It'll be much better than when I was in the Hero's party, where I was treated worse than a dog."
Hearing this, the Hero looked at me with a complex expression.
"What made you like this? At least, the you I knew wouldn't sell out comrades for money."
At first, I just intended to mess with the Hero, but as I was leisurely chuckling, his words made my eyes slightly glaze over.
KWAANG!!
So, slamming my forehead hard against the bars in front of me, I said.
"Are you seriously asking? Don't you remember how I was treated while you and those fucking bitches were busy screwing? My betrayal was justified. You, who lost your initial resolve more than anyone, have no right to criticize my actions."
Camilla, standing behind me, gasped.
It was probably because she was seeing me genuinely angry for the first time.
Without even thinking of wiping the red blood flowing down my forehead, I growled through the iron bars, staring straight into the Hero's eyes.
At first, he tried not to back down and met my gaze, but as time passed, perhaps finding it difficult to endure due to his weakened state, he slowly averted his eyes.
Only then did I step back a few paces from the bars and run my hand through my heated head.
I wasn't expecting anything grand.
Still, if he had any fucking conscience, I thought he might at least reflect on betraying the party right before killing the Demon King, but there was no sign of that at all.
He's a selfish bastard from start to finish.
He probably thinks the world revolves solely around him.
Talking further with him would only make me angrier, so I took a few deep breaths and warned him.
"By the way, you shouldn't think about killing yourself. If you die, the remaining party members, whose value decreases, will all be executed together nicely."
At that moment, for the first time, focus returned to the Hero's blurry eyes.
"A-are they all still alive?! Where! Where are they?!"
This is unexpected.
If they were imprisoned on the same floor, they could have confirmed each other's survival via voice, but the Hero had no idea they were alive.
As I subtly glanced over, wondering what was up, Camilla whispered in my ear.
'As far as I know, the cell walls on the third floor are all enchanted with special soundproofing magic. People imprisoned here cannot hear the voices of prisoners locked in other rooms.'
I see, so that was the situation.
I said mockingly to the Hero, who was clearly agitated.
"They're still alive and well. I'm not entirely cold-blooded, you know. Depending on your attitude going forward, I might even release them."
Of course, that was a blatant lie.
Just like the Hero imprisoned here, I had absolutely no intention of releasing the others.
The moment even one of them escapes this underground prison, the fact that I betrayed the Hero's party will become known to the world.
Buying time by keeping them locked up in prison will only last for about 3 months… no, maybe 4 months at most.
If the Hero's party disappears for over half a year after entering the demon territory, people would usually assume they were wiped out.
If this fact reaches the ears of the old fox sitting on the throne, they'll immediately select a new Hero and send new scouts.
If my hypothesis is correct and another Hero won't appear as long as the current Hero is alive, I can rest easy, but if not, it means I've made a grand blunder.
Hearing the news of their survival, I turned away from the Hero, whose face was etched with deep contemplation, and said.
"I'll come again next time. Prepare your answer by then."
Now that I've seen the face of that annoying Hero, it's time to handle the real business I came down to the underground prison for.
As I turned back the way I came, Camilla cautiously offered me a handkerchief.
"Use this to stop the bleeding on your forehead."
I paused for a moment after receiving it, but then smiled wryly and said to her.
"Thank you."
Camilla is a very considerate woman.
She would surely make a good bride.
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