32 – The Hero’s Rescue Squad
Our ‘organization,’ run by an old geezer—who others might refer to as ‘father’ or ‘elder’—is a wicked operation that takes on all the dark deeds across the continent.
The tasks are quite diverse. Political machinations, hostage rescues, espionage, sabotage – anything that’s difficult to disclose ‘externally,’ you can assume, is our responsibility. We are a supra-national organization specializing in handling the dirty work.
I have taken on my fair share of missions within our organization. They were mainly horrible and sordid tasks that must not be linked to a face. Or sometimes, they were related to the demon race.
One could surmise the cruelty of our organization by how efficiently and flexibly it exploited people.
The upside of such tasks is that even if you fail, it doesn’t really cause a problem. If it’s sordid enough for me to handle, complaining openly would be difficult for any client, regardless of who they were.
That was also one of those missions.
A mission to support a candidate in the bloody dispute for the imperial succession prompted by the competition within the royal family.
I was dispatched to the princess’s faction. A faction whose failure would likely not cause much of a problem. I’m sure that similar assignments were given on the side of the first prince, who most likely would become the emperor, and more skilled and competent agents were sent there.
This was both an advantage and a disadvantage of our organization. If both sides requested us to cut each other’s arms, we would accept both requests. If the owner of the organization were not that ‘old b*tch’, wouldn’t we have been repressed due to being hated on both sides?
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Anyway, I ended up protecting the princess in this courtly strife.
Literally, protection. I had no intention of making the princess the empress. It wasn’t something I could do in the first place.
I just wanted to protect the poor child who was swept up in this strife for the sole reason of being born of the emperor’s bloodline. Even after the first prince became the emperor, I at least wanted to ensure that he would not hang from the guillotine.
In this vein, I tried my best to build a network for the princess, teach minimum self-defense skills, read fairy tale books for mental care… all in an attempt to give a very ‘harmless’ impression to other competitors.
Maybe it worked too well.
Other candidates for the throne left the princess alone and ended up self-destructing while fighting amongst themselves!
That’s why the current emperor of the empire is an empress.
Yes. I was an agent with connections to the emperor….
Anyway, those connections are a state secret related to the organization, so they are useless in practice. I used the ‘golden plaque’ I received from the princess then, in the sense of getting it all out as it was my final mission.
The Golden Plaque is like a promissory note sprinkled by an heir to the throne unto his supporters, symbolizing a promise of reciprocation once he becomes the emperor. It is, by the way, a one-time use item.
The director will sort it out later. The person who used the golden plaque is ‘Plum Radiant Orchid’, not Woocheon or Rain.
It was okay to use all the cards available for this last mission.
If the hero ultimately loses to the Demon King, and this mission is not the last… That would be too dreadful to even imagine.
“We need to rescue the hero.”
A ‘humanity’s hero’ who owes an unpayable debt to Primrose, and the ’empire’ that has to comply with my single request.
At the point where these two, most influential people were silenced, the atmosphere of the conference room was already leaning towards me. It’s as if I’ve taken over their influences.
What I want to do here,
It was not only the two, but also to make all the people in this conference room into debtors.
The creditor of that debt must be the hero.
“As you all know, we are standing on a very precarious situation. The demons united under the Demon King’s flag and violated the territory of humanity, dungeons are overflowing, and the fiefdom of Primrose, once humanity’s bravest knight, has burned to the ground.”
The surviving heroes who knew Primrose were silent.
There was no need to push too hard. I eased the tense atmosphere with a smile.
“Oh, I heard that Rosa, the daughter of the late Earl Primrose, attends this academy. She was indeed a brave and righteous student worthy of the name Primrose… She has a somewhat hot-tempered and quirky character, just like the late Earl Primrose.”
“I remember seeing that child when she was very young… how the late Earl Primrose bragged about his daughter, it was almost unbearable… Such a cute kid she was…”
“hahahaha, she would look even cuter to you now. And quite matured, as well.”
“Is that so…?”
There is no brave hero nor Scarlett here.
Ultimately, I believe that what is necessary for persuasion is sincerity. This is because humans have a biological ability to detect lies. While it is not a perfect lie detector, using it is the most effective means of persuasion.
The best persuasion is making the other party realize the truth they had believed.
In order to do this, one must first open their heart.
“Many heroes of the Academy are here, I understand, to protect the Academy’s students. I am merely a part-time lecturer, so I don’t fully know, but I understand that it is thanks to you heroes that Roja and … the students can freely learn.”
“I’m just doing my job.”
“The same applies to the ambassadors from various countries. I believe that you are generously providing various supports from each country for the operation of the Academy. My salary comes from there, doesn’t it?”
“Ah, indeed. Our finance representative is always complaining about the shortage of budget.”
Even if one is an ambassador of a country, they are all salaried workers.
The tense atmosphere eased with a relatable and light topic. The ambassadors who were ‘watching’ me started to ‘participate’ in the conversation with me.
However, I was still the one leading the conversation.
It was similar to the relationship between professors and students. If I lightened the mood, the students would ask questions or joke.
What I had to do was to properly choose which student to respond to.
“Protecting the students … Protecting the Academy means protecting the future of this continent. I believe that the old heroes who first built the Academy did so not for the present, but for the future.”
I filled the heroes and representatives from each country with the pride of ‘protecting’ the future.
“If it is the duty of adults to guide children for the future.”
Then pulling them down.
“We have abandoned too many responsibilities.”
From now on, it’s okay to push as much as I want. I raised the pace of my speech.
“The Goddess chose the hero, they say. She declared to the people who the hero was to defeat the Demon King, after giving him glowing talent, unwavering blessings, and a sharp holy sword.”
Most of the people here know about the hero’s age. Even if they don’t know exactly, they would know that the hero is not that old.
By now, he should be an adult or nearly an adult. He’s not young per se, but…
That’s just because time has passed.
“If a child tries to enter a forest alone, an adult stops him. Because it’s dangerous. They also stop him if he tries to touch a sharp knife. But for the sole reason that he was chosen by the goddess, the Hero entered the dungeon with a sword at a young age. Because he is a hero.”
“…Well, your parents must have been very angry. What’s so big about a knife…”
“I grew up in a slum. I was an orphan.”
“….”
Even this disguise is of a noble from a commoner, so this much is fine.
“I was beaten up a lot in the slum, and I had many near-death experiences. But no one ordered me to jump into a dungeon. Even if they ordered, I would have run away instead of going.”
In fact, there were similar incidents. Taking a poor man, giving him a coin, and using him as bait. Well, it’s common.
“But to the hero, they speak as if it’s only natural. Conquer the dungeons, help the people, overcome the trials, prevail against adversity, slay the demonfolk, defeat the Demon King… And the hero listens, as if it’s only natural. Because that’s what heroes do. No one finds this odd.”
There are things I’ve seen while traveling with the hero.
The villagers who rely on the hero whenever they’re faced with fear and the believers who sing praises of the goddess’s greatness. Such incredibly foolish people.
The problem is that this perception is common among most people in this world.
“Too many people were dependent on a single hero. It was too much responsibility for one child to bear. If one of humanity’s heroes were to feel unwell and unable to wield a sword…”
“They’d probably say to leave it with a smile. ‘Rest well and come back when you can.'”
“But there is no one to stand in for the hero. Simply being chosen by the goddess has subjected him to an uninterrupted chain of duties.”
Some people reddened with shame or bowed their heads. Perhaps they were among those who had cursed the hero for abruptly storming into the demon world.
Truthfully, I also cursed him a bit in my heart…
But that’s a secret.
“I’ll say it once more. We must rescue the hero. And… let him rest. We will tell him that it’s okay to leave it to the adults for a day, that the adults can handle a week on their own, that it’s alright for him to spend a month doing what he wishes.”
“….”
“Humanity won’t crumble if the defeat of the Demon King is postponed for a mere month, because we are not that frail. Right, hero?”
“…It’s Chrom.”
“Yes, Lord Chrom. May we entrust it with confidence?”
“We have defended this realm for centuries. We can withstand even if it’s delayed by decades, not just months; there’s no need to worry.”
I smiled broadly.
And slowly, turning to look around, I made eye contact with each person as I spoke.
“It was our fault that the hero plunged into the demon world so prematurely. We owe the hero time. As the hero has fulfilled his duty, we’ve gained leisure.”
There is no way to know why the hero had acted so hastily.
But at least one fact is clear.
“We must rescue the hero. Please, lend your strength.”
Then the hero declared,
“We shall… repay our debt to the hero and Primrose.”
And the imperial envoy nodded his head.
“We will prepare a worthy medal for the hero.”
The headmaster of the academy smiled.
“It seems… our professors agree, too?”
Other envoys also joined in.
“If you tell us what’s required, we will convey it to our home country.”
Thus, a rescue team was organized to save the hero.