Chapter 53

A Event In Prince's Study

“Shit! God fucking damn it!”

Ryuit Glorrio Allysia smashed his desk and profanities flew from his mouth, one after another .

The report that’d just entered his ears had ignited in him an irrepressible fury . One of his recent initiatives, the Wicked Forest Expedition, had more than just ended in failure . Its outcome was the absolute worst possible . The entire expedition force had basically been annihilated . The only unit that survived was the one that’d turned tail and fled from the enemy . Every other soldier and mercenary they'd sent had failed to return . They'd been completely destroyed .

Naturally, the man in charge of the unit that had survived was judged a coward . He was immediately removed from his post and permanently blacklisted from Allysian knight order .

"Fucking damn it!" The prince gave his table one last smack as he thought through the consequences of his failure . He had promised his investors profit . He told them that they were sure to benefit so long as they trusted him with their funds and believed in him . But he failed . He had nothing to show to those that had supported him . And that wasn't even the end of it . Ryuit understood that the blunder had taken a toll on his reputation . He knew that he had turned many off from investing in his future exploits, and that the expedition had become a blatant black stain on his record .

To make matters worse, the Wicked Forest Expedition was something he’d put together without the king’s permission . He ignored the bureaucracy and acted entirely of his own accord . If he’d succeeded, he would have been able to brush off the resulting criticism by emphasizing his newfound achievements . But he did not . And so, he was prone to blame and punishment . His crime was so grave that he would have been court martialed had he not been a prince . Fortunately, his status allowed him to escape conviction, but that didn't mean he was scott free . Some sort of punishment was inevitable if his actions and their consequences were ever brought to light .

Ryuit had no choice but to somehow make up for his failure . If he didn’t, his name would remain sullied, and his reputation smeared with mud . The nobles wouldn’t obey him, not even after he inherited his father’s throne .

"What now, my lord?" The only other individual in the prince's office raised his voice . "The expedition's failure was likely due to a lack of personnel . We'll need to send an even larger group if we wish to succeed, but it doesn't look like we can . His Majesty will likely catch wind of our actions if we do . "

"I fucking know already goddamnit! I don't need you reminding me . " The prince's immediate reaction was to shout, but he realized that losing his temper wouldn't be to his benefit, so he took a deep breath and calmed himself before continuing . "If quantity isn't an option, then we'll have to resort to using quality instead . Why don't we employ that one group of orihalcum class adventurers?"

"With all due respect, Your Highness, that isn't possible . They've already been placed on another task . I doubt any adventurers weaker than them will work either, seeing as how our foe was capable of crushing an entire army . "

"Damn it . " The prince clicked his tongue . "Fine, then let's use that . "

"I'm talking about the thing the church's been boasting about lately . "

"You mean to say the hero? I believe it hasn't finished its training yet . The church is likely willing to lend it to us regardless, but I'm sure it'll demand quite the amount of compensation in return . "

"Feh," scoffed the prince . "Those greedy misers . They call themselves 'god's vassals,' but they're as hungry for gold as the most avaricious of merchants . Fine . We'll reel them in by flashing them a cut of the profits . "

"If that is your will, then so it shall be, Your Highness . "

***

"Ugh…Why am I here again?"

The hero sighed as she pushed herself to continue moving through the undergrowth .

Her name was Nell . She was a young girl that'd formerly lived in a village out in the boonies . She'd always thought of herself as an average girl, but one fateful day, that'd all changed . A man claiming to be one of the church's priests had showed up at her doorstep and informed her that she held all of the qualifications necessary for her to become a hero .

Nell's excitement shot through the roof in an instant . Her mother had always told her tales of heroes, of how they used their blessed powers to rid the world of evil and calamity . The many folk and fairy tales she heard about them had led her to develop a deep admiration of their craft . Becoming a hero would not only let her help people, but also make things easier on her mother . She had no father, so Nell's mother had slaved away, overworking herself day in and day out in order to raise her .

The combination of her circumstances and her respect for heroes had led her to be enthralled by the priest’s words . She immediately accepted his offer and took up the hero's mantle . The days that followed were filled with naught but hellish, grueling training . She would train with the knight order until she was utterly exhausted before moving on to listening to an old court mage ramble on and on about magic . His lectures were so "fascinating" that they threatened to almost magically force her into the land of dreams . It took everything she had to resist the urge and continue listening .

Nell was confident that the relentless training she'd been put through had toughened her up, and that the church was finally sending her out on a mission because they recognized her abilities . Frankly, she was happy . She was glad that all her hard work had finally been acknowledged .

The mission was for her to eliminate a man-slaying demon that lived within the depths of a forest . It was her first job, so she was pumped, especially since the church had provided her a full set of equipment .

"Gegyaagyaaaa!"

"W-what was that!?"

Nell took up a stance and brandished her with a practiced blade as a large bird took to the skies somewhere nearby . Her training had clearly paid off; the action was entirely unconscious . But that said, Nell wasn't exactly what one could call composed . In fact, she was exactly the opposite .

Her voice had clearly indicated that she was on the verge of breaking into tears . She lacked the mental fortitude to deal with her current situation . Nell had been named a hero, but the truth of the matter was that she was still just an ordinary girl at heart .