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Lucius was an ordinary young man from a rural village.

Although he had traveled for the past few months, he was still a naive youth who had never even seen the capital of the kingdom.

Everything about Belselphia felt foreign to him.

Of course, his companions Rosmas and Droniel felt quite unfamiliar as well, but for Lucius, the whole situation was just awkward and strange.

“Hey, Hero! Come over here! Have a drink!”

“That alcohol…”

Especially the cheers of the demon race calling out to him everywhere he went truly left Lucius flabbergasted.

He could die with just one word due to the power of the Holy Sword, and the weapon he bore was the one that defeated their leader, the Demon Lord.

“Hey! The hero of Belselphia has arrived! Everyone, applause for the heroes!!”

“Wowwwww!!”

Why were they cheering for him and his party like this?

“A Hero should be able to take this much alcohol with ease!”

“No, I—I’m not good with drinks…”

“It’s fine! Heroes don’t get drunk even if they drink!”

“…Huh?”

Lucius’s eyes widened at the muscular orc’s words.

“What do you mean, Heroes don’t get drunk?”

“Huh? You didn’t know? The Hero of the Holy Sword always optimizes their body to maintain homeostasis! Even if their liver’s ability to process alcohol is garbage, the power of the Holy Sword will handle their metabolism!”

“…I’m sorry, but I’m not following the words you’re saying in Belselphia.”

“Oh, is that so…?”

The orc fiddled with the glass he held and snapped his fingers.

“In short, no matter how much you drink, you won’t get drunk! Because you’re a Hero!”

“How do you know that?”

“Because the Hero we fought against was like that!”

“…Huh?”

Ears perked up.

Lucius felt intrigued by the casual remark made by the orc.

“We can just try an experiment.”

“Oh, right! Boss! One table here!”

“Does the Hero have to order? Are you doing this?”

“Golden Bell!”

“What about the money?”

“I’ll pay!”

“Deal.”

Wowwwww!!

Without having a clue why, Lucius and his party sat at the table.

The round table was inconveniently located in the middle of the tavern, making them the center of attention for everyone in the pub, struggling to maintain any semblance of composure as they sat down.

“Whew. Truly a Hero, isn’t it? Two beauties by your side.”

“Ah, how nice. A fresh date with two beauties. Ah, back in our day, Heroes… sigh.”

“Yeah, that crazed fellow built a mobile fortress with a hundred wives and wandered around with them.”

“Uh… we don’t know anything about that story.”

Lucius quietly raised his hand, causing the tavern to fall silent in an instant.

“…You don’t know?”

“Yes. What happened with Heroes 500 years ago…”

“You don’t know the story of the Hero who wielded the Holy Sword of Earth ‘Jade’? The Harem Train of Jade? How he ran away to build a castle with the power of the Holy Sword while dodging the Demon Lord’s army?”

“Huh? That’s nonsense.”

Droniel exclaimed in shock, waving his hands dismissively.

“If you’re talking about Emperor Jade, he fought the Demon Lord even after getting his arm chopped off as a great hero while wielding the Holy Sword…”

“What? Hahaha! Jade has really grown! That guy who hid after getting beaten by the Demon Lord is called Emperor Jade now!”

“Uh, it seems the history from 500 years ago is quite different from what we know…”

Everyone tapped their knees at Rosmas’s remark.

“I see! They’ve hidden the truth! It’s undeniable he got battered by the Demon King, but they’ve concealed just how badly he got beaten!”

“Hmph, typical of despicable people. Hey, how did you find out? What about the Battle of Grandris? The Zerbia Castle destruction incident?”

“What should I ask like that? It’s clear something went wrong.”

A seemingly calm lizardman poured beer into his mouth as he continued.

“As soon as you mention Grandris and Zerbia, you all tilt your heads. It must be a name erased from history. For humans, it’s a dark chapter. These kids know nothing. Don’t provoke something unnecessarily and cause a gestalt collapse.”

“…What collapsed? What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, right. I can’t just say anything without care.”

The residents of Belselphia exchanged glances, nodding to each other.

It seemed like they intended to boldly spill both unnecessary and sensitive secrets, but the truth of the past was too much of a burden to casually share with those from the surface after 500 years.

“Um…”

“Excuse me… what was your master like?”

At Lucius’s query, the atmosphere in the tavern stiffened.

“…Is that also off-limits?”

“If you’re talking about your master, could it be…?”

“The Sorceress of Crimson Lotus, Bel.”

“Guh…!!”

Everyone grimaced.

While they appeared hesitant to talk, their expressions were itching to spill the beans uncontrollably.

“Let me ask first. Have you ever heard of the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus?”

“No, this is the first I’m hearing. I just learned that after sealing the Demon Lord 500 years ago, she sealed herself for 500 years.”

“We didn’t know someone like that existed.”

“Well, is that so…”

The demon race nodded, as if they expected it.

“Do you believe in her?”

“Her? You mean…”

“Yes, her. Perhaps she, too, may not have wanted to speak too clearly about the events of 500 years ago.”

“What do you mean by her…? Wasn’t the Sage the one who led the Heroes to defeat the Demon Lord?”

“No.”

At the calm but determined words of the demons, Rosmas stiffened.

“You might think differently, but the Heroes of 500 years ago should rightly be called ‘Sword Users’. They weren’t kind, earnest, or good-looking heroes like this young friend here.”

“Then…?”

“They were trash. This isn’t just from the perspective of the Demon King; even from humans’ standpoint, they were quite malicious beings.”

“Hey, isn’t that approaching anarchy?”

“We should talk about this, though? That way, we can learn a bit about the Sorceress of Crimson Lotus. She hasn’t said a word about it, it seems.”

“Isn’t there a reason she hasn’t spoken?”

“Still, some things ought to be known. Can you just let that scumbag Jade be called Emperor without any reaction?”

“……..”

A minotaur with one horn missing fiddled with his remaining horn and closed his eyes.

“…Wind Hero. I can’t say how you’ll think, but regardless of what happened to the Heroes 500 years ago, at least all of them were trash except for one.”

“One…?”

“Yes. The rest were all trash. Some committed atrocities believing they were the rightful owners of the Holy Sword, and others abused their power, arguing that anyone without the power of the Holy Sword couldn’t stand up to the Demon King’s army. Among them…”

“Emperor Jade, also known as the traitor, stole the Holy Sword of Earth and created a harem. He was recovered quickly, though.”

“…….The Heroes, were they trash…?”

“Yes. The Sorceress of Crimson Lotus tried to rehabilitate such Heroes. Together with some man.”

“…Man?”

Under the table, Lucius clenched his fists tightly.

“What you all know is an untold truth of history. Need to detail it? It’s a story from 500 years ago.”

“Yeah. Based on what I gathered, it seemed like the Order of the Goddess interfered…”

Creeeak.

The door opened.

Everyone gulped at the appearance of a woman in a white dress.

“Why are you all like that?”

“…Are you asking why we’re like this?”

Saintess Yan entered calmly and sat at the table where Lucius was.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, is the Saintess allowed to be here?”

“Huh? Saintess?”

Yan poured herself beer into her empty glass and took a sip.

“The Saintess should be down there on the surface. How could the Saintess come to such a place?”

“Indeed, that’s the line of thinking, isn’t it…?”

“Is that okay? Isn’t that what you believe in?”

“It’s fine. She’s a kind person and will forgive me for acting like this here.”

Yan clasped her hands together and prayed.

“O most beautiful and merciful one in the world, may these people enjoy today’s happiness and grant them the vitality to live vigorously again tomorrow.”

“…I don’t get it. Hey, just enjoy yourself! 500 years ago or whatever, we’re just here to drink with the heroes who saved our city!!”

“Wooaaahhh!!”

Cheers erupted.

As everyone chatted boisterously, only one young man drank with a kind smile.

The clenched fist below went unseen by anyone.

 

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