I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist chapter 22

22. not very pleasant (1)

Even though it was said to be going to work, in fact, the hero’s office was not given a particularly systematic task. Occasionally, he writes replies to letters from the royal family or high-ranking nobles, or provides support if there is a monster subjugation that requires the cooperation of the hero.

Of course, it wasn’t really a waste of time. Because he was investing all of that empty time in training. In fact, it was a waste of time for the hero to write replies to letters and show his face at events. Only when I become stronger can I survive and my chances of defeating disaster increase even slightly. It wasn’t long until we set out to subdue the fourth plague. It seemed that the red multiplication table eating away the white cells on the calendar one by one gnawed at my heart as well, causing impatience.

“You look free.”

Georg suddenly spoke to me. He had just completed his recovery from attacking the third disaster. Since I didn’t know anything anyway, my role was to pretend to listen to Georg. Aside from that, we had a brief meeting about future plans. It wasn’t a very nutritious time.

“Have you ever heard of a swan’s feet beneath the surface?”

“Effort is the law to keep going even if others don’t recognize it. Even a swan will drown if it stops swimming.”

Georg was getting better and better at taking my words back. The problem is that this time it wasn’t meant as a joke. I sighed and leaned over the desk. Fortress Holy Sword was training me quite harshly. Of the core, ki, and body, the first thing that should be the foundation is the body or something. So far, I have been criticized for simply swinging a sword without such a system.

Since the opening of the holy sword increased my body’s recovery speed, I was able to devote myself to training while splitting my sleep. Miracle Morning, where you fall asleep around 2:00 AM and wake up again at 5:00 AM to start training. Even so, it was a little shocking that there was almost no fatigue left in the body. The voice of Seonggeom who clicked his tongue saying that this was a medicine was even more shocking.

“I brought tea.”

Opening the door to the bathroom, Daphne stuck her head out. Daphne’s clear, beady voice was like sweet rain. Click, the teacup placed on my desk made a pleasant rattling sound. Daphne must have been skilful in the cold car. I wrapped my hands around the cold teacup and enjoyed the cool breeze. It was the perfect drink for early summer.

“It’s getting hotter little by little, so I made it cold once.”

“There is only you, Daphne.”

As I murmured with a happy sigh, Daphne’s face lightened slightly. When I took a sip of the tea, the scent of jasmine and green tea properly mixed permeated my body.

“Good.”

In my opinion, Daphne smiled broadly. After the confrontation with Nella, Daphne’s expression brightened considerably. I took another sip of tea, appreciating the smile that I now see quite often.

thump, thump, thump.

At that time, I heard someone knocking on the front door on the first floor. Without question, we raised our heads, and I got up to greet the guests. As I left the room, Daphne followed me like a habit.

“Who is it? Someone worth looking for right now.”

“… I know. I hope it won’t be an uninvited guest like last time.”

Reaching the first floor with a feeling of uncertainty, I opened the door with an unsure hand. And the person standing at the doorway was a guy who wasn’t sure if he should be greeted.

“It hasn’t been a long time, and the weather is really nice, warrior.”

Bishop Andre, as always, was wearing a black priestly robe and a silver rosary, smiling narrowly. gate crasher… wouldn’t it?

“I don’t know if it’s rude to come here now.”

Bishop Andre saw my sullen expression and smiled. I shook my head tremblingly. He matched me up well during the last hearing, but basically, this person is the head of the Heretic Questioners. It means that he is a person who should never be careless or completely trusted.

“Come in at once.”

I gave way Bishop Andrew entered the lobby looking around appreciatively.

“You’re staying in the kingdom longer than I thought.”

“There are more things to solve than I thought while staying in Kairos Kingdom. Thanks to Isis and the hero.”

Bishop Andrew let out a low laugh. Well, since Isis disappeared after entering the kingdom, I will have to stay in the kingdom for a while to find out where she is or hear about her. It seemed that we couldn’t end it in the lobby like we did last time as the assistant minister of home affairs, so we decided to continue our conversation in the office.

“You came this time… .”

“I have a few things to tell you. Perhaps there will be news that the hero will welcome.”

Bishop Andrew shrugged his shoulders as if to expect. Upon reaching the office, Georg, who was guarding the room, saw Bishop Andrew and greeted him with the courtesy of a knight.

“Welcome, Bishop.”

“You don’t have to be so rigid. Treat them as if they were just ordinary guests.”

Bishop Andrew sat down on the couch prepared for reception. I sat across from him, and Daphne hurriedly disappeared into the bathroom, saying she would get more tea. Bishop Andrew, who glanced at the back, murmured in admiration.

“You have grown up. Did you say Miss Daphne?”

“You know me well.”

“Yes. I have to congratulate you on this. It seems like a pretty big achievement. You’ve become a wizard that’s really suitable for a warrior’s party.”

The bishop turned his head to me again with an amused look on his face. Indeed, I began to worry about what kind of bomb that smiley face would have brought today. Daphne brought tea back, and Bishop Andre took a sip of the icy jasmine green tea.

“I found Isis.”

Gray eyes flashed between the bishop’s narrow eyes. I almost spit out the tea I was drinking. I blinked my eyes as I swallowed the tea water that made my throat tingle with saliva. No way, this person probably didn’t want to break his promise to me and do something useless.

“Isis… You found it?”

“When I went there, it was in a city quite far from the capital. It has been seen several times at the Adventurer’s Guild, and is said to be staying at an inn in Kolda. The church is where information from the whole city gathers every weekend, so it wasn’t difficult to find where Isis was.”

Isn’t it hard to leave the house? Bishop Andrew added so.

“Isis has not come to church yet. It seems that they have a separate purpose, but they are constantly looking for someone. It will not be possible to turn away from the church forever, so I think it will show up once in a while.”

That someone must be Arjen. Did the two of you ever want to meet? It was one of the scenes that I was quite impressed with in the original film, but thinking about it now made me feel like my stomach was twisting.

“What do you plan to do with Isis?”

“If I can get in touch with you, I would like to ask for post-war recovery. It’s because Kolda is close to Baktins, where the third plague appeared. It would be okay if I told you what the hero said.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the Heretic Questioners were having wild thoughts. As long as I didn’t kidnap Isis or try to touch the main character, it was fine.

“… okay.”

“Thanks to what the hero said at the hearing, Seongguk and the saintess were able to get out of a difficult position. I should thank you again for this.”

Bishop Andrew sighed.

“I won’t send the saintess to the battlefield infested with monsters again, but if people want it, they might have to face Isis again someday.”

Isis. To be honest, I had no desire to get more involved with her or the main character. However, as long as I am a warrior and she remains a saint, it seems that there is no choice but to be involved.

“If such an opportunity comes, it is my wish that the misunderstandings and conflicts accumulated between the saintess and the warrior be resolved. Apart from the relationship between the Holy Kingdom and Kairos Kingdom.”

I wonder if there is anything good about touching a relationship that has already been twisted. I think it’s just going to be a fight. I nodded my head and poured the remaining tea into a bite. Seeing my lukewarm response, Bishop Andrew shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile.

“So, what news would I like to hear?”

Bishop Andrew crossed their palms. Looking at the anticipation in those eyes, I don’t know if it’s really the news I’m happy with.

“Regardless of the circumstances, the mercenary and the saintess did not leave the warrior party. It must be true that the strength of the warrior party has been cut.”

“… Yes.”

“Through this incident, the Seongguk owes something to the hero… , I have prepared a small reward.”

pay? I tilted my head.

“I would really appreciate it if you could give me money.”

Bishop Andrew burst into laughter at my words. I’m not kidding.

“Seongguk is also in a tight position these days, so it can’t be given in money, and instead, we have prepared an item whose value cannot be converted into money. I think it will be of great help to the warrior.”

it’s a thing Answering like that makes me rather anxious.

“You mean you brought things here yourself?”

Bishop Andrew shook his head.

“It’s not something I can personally carry and carry around. It’s something I had to pay a lot of attention to when I moved it from the Holy Land to this place.”

“So, where are you now… .”

“Currently, it is solemnly stored in the basement of a church in the royal capital.”

The bishop answered and rose from his seat.

“Follow me. It will probably take some time, but only me and the hero were allowed to enter the underground, so the two of you… .”

When the Bishop looked back at Daphne and Georg, I shrugged and waved my hand.

“You don’t have to wait. You can go to work first.”

Georg nodded and left first, and I forced Daphne to wait until the end with a worried look on her face. Bishop Andrew was watching the scene with a smile.

“You have good friends.”

“… Let’s go.”

—

Unexpectedly, the church of the Puritan Church was not large. I was expecting a feeling like the grandeur of a gothic cathedral, but what appeared in front of me was a cathedral of ordinary size, close to the ruggedness of Gregorian and Romanesque. Perhaps such huge cathedrals are mainly lined up in the Holy Land, not here.

“The churches of the Kairos Kingdom have a history and tradition. This is also one of my favorite churches.”

Bishop Andre said as he opened the creaking church door and entered. The church built against the sunlight felt the cool breeze even though summer was approaching. The bishop strode past the groom on the bench.

“… There is no one.”

“It’s also a day without Mass, and I’m bringing the warrior today, so I asked you to leave for a while. He was willing to listen.”

Feeling uneasy for no reason, I touched the hilt of the holy sword.

“[It makes me wonder what he might have brought.]”

… Well, the Holy Sword didn’t seem to care that much.

“Okay, this is it.”

Behind the inner quake, standing in front of a wooden door prepared in a corridor-like place, Bishop Andre said. Since the Heretic Questioner was opening the door leading down to the basement, it felt as if lurking behind that door was a dungeon where pagans were imprisoned.

“Please go in.”

The bishop said while holding up a lantern he had taken out from somewhere. I secretly swallowed my saliva and followed the bishop into the darkness. It’s still dark, but as I started to enter the cellar, something closer to chill than cold began to ride through my body.

“There is something called a holy relic. Have you ever heard of it?”

The bishop’s voice came through the sound of footsteps walking down the stone steps. In the flickering light of the lantern, the bishop’s shadow appeared on the wall like a ghost and disappeared.

“Are you talking about the relics left by the saints of old?”

The bishop nodded and smiled.

“Yes. And they often have special powers. There are many cases of covering the owner. Just like the holy sword that the hero uses.”

I glanced down at the holy sword at my waist. The Holy Sword spoke as if he had been waiting.

“[Not all of them will be like me.]”

yes. There won’t be another item as powerful as the holy sword. Then, rather than a church, it would be more correct to think of it as an armed group armed with suspiciously powerful weapons.

“Now I’m going to lend one of those relics to the hero.”

Upon reaching the cellar, Bishop Andre hung a lantern from the ceiling. Under the glittering light, something like a glass tube wrapped in black cloth caught my eye. The bishop slowly approached the coffin, grabbed the cloth and pulled it down. I let out a sigh as I looked at the holy relic in the glass coffin.

“A long ago. An object left by an adult from a time far, far away that we cannot imagine now.”

There was a crown of thorns, stained here and there.

“It is a crown.”