I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist chapter 3

3. daphne epiphone (1)

The interview with the first applicant did not last long. I swayed the paper and recited interview questions in a mechanical voice.

“Are there any other specialties?”

“alchemy. You can also make healing potions.”

Mary Astrus answered my question in a voice mixed with annoyance. From the look on his face, he seemed to be asking, ‘Do I have to answer this question?’ Did you say that he was wandering around the world after graduating from the Mage Tower? She had red hair and, of course, had a beautiful face. It should be said that she looked like a poisonous rose, or she was a woman with an air of arrogance that would appear in a cartoon.

Oh, and he was also a new party member whom Illroy kicked out Arjen and Isis and brought them in in ＜I Won’t Go Back＞. Georg seemed to be moved by her apparent skill. After the interview, Georg spoke to me while raising his thick eyebrows.

“Illroy, this mage, your skills aren’t bad. Put me on the waiting list first… .”

“I’m sorry, but we’ll see you next time.”

It was cut right away without any regrets. I could feel Georg’s expression decaying in real time. I also heard a lot of swear words. Well, it was unavoidable. In the original work, ＜I’ll Never Go Back＞, the reason why the party of warriors started to fall into hell was when they recruited party members with half the personality. Even that mage who left the room while muttering at my words to go back was also a villain who in the original work took care of Georg as he pleased and fawned over the hero.

‘I saved you once, bastard.’

I snorted inwardly as Georg looked at me with scary eyes. In the original story, there must have been a part of him that went through hardships on his own to some extent.

“… You didn’t even listen to me from the beginning.”

“It’s just the first. You don’t have to be in a hurry. If everyone you see is going to be put on a waiting list, why the hell are you interviewing? Are you going to make a party for about 50 people?”

I looked down at the list of participants and called for the next applicant.

“The next applicant please come in.”

However, neither the next applicant nor the next applicant entered the pending list. I whizzed through the applicants like turning the pages of a boring book. Georg knocked out those who asked to be put on the waiting list, and those who asked not to. Among them, there was an adventurer who became a substitute member of the hero’s party in the original work, and there was also a villain who stood in the way of the main character’s group.

“I’ll see you next time.”

I sent this contestant away with a half-tired voice. Georg crossed his arms with a sullen expression and shook his head. It seemed like he didn’t even expect it.

“What kind of person did you want, and you kicked out all the contestants so far?”

I put down the pen and stretched.

“First of all, no one has ever been there. If you have good skills, there are obstacles, and if there are no obstacles, your skills are not noticeable.”

“They say that there is no one who can replace Arjen and Isis, but it seems that only their eyes are raised too high. Now, there are some contestants who leave in the middle, are you planning on not picking anyone?”

Georg said that and shook his head. As Georg said, there were some participants who did not come in even though their names were called. I wouldn’t even try to pick people who would give up that much in the first place, so it doesn’t matter much.

‘It’s almost time to come.’

However, I thought that if it was a weak-willed ‘that guy’, he might be agitated by this crowd psychology and go back. First of all, I confirmed that they were waiting in line in front of this building to enter. I went through the list of applicants. In order, it was the next participant.

“Next applicant, please come in.”

Feeling a bit uneasy, I called the next applicant. will come have to come I tried not to show it with my expression, but cold sweat was pouring down my back, and my heart was pounding against my left ribs.

please come

My wishes have now turned into respectful words. The tension is so breathtaking that one second feels like an hour. In the meantime, I felt someone lingering in front of the door, and I grinned.

smart smart

The door opens with a knock. I faced a woman with light pink hair standing with her hands together through the open door. She turned her quivering purple eyes to me. In the original story, this young warrior would have been annoyed at that trembling figure, but I couldn’t be so happy to see that cowardly figure.

“Daphne Epiphone, right?”

At my question, Daphne nodded with a pale face. I passed right away, so I gestured for a chair, holding back my desire to blow away the words to go to work from tomorrow.

“Sit down.”

Daphne nodded again and walked over to her chair and sat down. The way he walks staggers a little, and he seems very nervous. I fixed the smile that was about to bloom on my face to a small smile. I gave Daphne time to catch her breath.

Illroy, the hero of ＜Never Go Back＞, made two fatal mistakes even after kicking out the main character and Isis.

The first mistake was recruiting the wrong person as a party member. Mary Astrus, the first interviewer, is a good example.

“What motivated you to apply for our party?”

“Oh that… that’s… .”

And, the second mistake the hero Illroy made was,

“I have a sense of duty to save the world, no, to protect it.”

That this person was not chosen.

“I want to change myself on this opportunity… .”

Daphne Epiphone. 4 circles. A wizard of misfortune who was excommunicated by his master who was jealous of his talent after confining himself to the magic tower to study magic. And, the owner of the talent to become the only 8th circle wizard in ＜I’ll Never Come Back＞, and the main character, another heroine of Arjen. A helper who helped Arjen overcome the seven plagues more than anyone else.

“Yo, I mustered up the courage to apply.”

Daphne’s voice died down, as if it was crawling through a rat hole. The reason she joined the main character, Arjen’s party, was after she was eliminated from the party member open recruitment conducted by the hero of the original story. At the time, it was not enough that she was eliminated, and she had to hear insults and insults close to personal attacks from the warrior at the interview.

“What aspect of the applicant did you want to change?”

And, I won’t make that mistake.

—

Daphne Epiphone is a coward.

Should it be said that the will is not hard, or is it that the heart is weak? The talent of an archmage might have been too heavy a burden for a girl who grew up in an ordinary family in a rural village. Magic and mana were performed and accepted as naturally as breathing to her. And she hid and hid the fact that she could use magic. Because I realized that if I found out about this, I would never be able to live a normal life.

I was just trying to protect my family.

One day, when the village was attacked by monsters, Daphne used magic to annihilate the monsters. The village where Daphne lived sent her to the wizards of the Mage Tower as if expelling her.

you just keep researching

At first, the professor who was excited to teach magic started to be wary of Daphne. Daphne didn’t bother asking, but she knew why. Because the eyes of the professor who was about to send Daphne to a research job were exactly the same as the eyes of the villagers looking at her.

What made her weaker than anything was rejection, not contempt. Daphne didn’t belong anywhere. She just kept shrinking. He thought of his talent as fetters and imprisoned him again and again. The magic that continued to grow was stagnant, and she could not always demonstrate her skills in actual combat. As a result, even after graduating from the Magic Tower, Daphne had no choice but to wander endlessly.

“Daphne, if you’re going to stay behind like that, just get out of here.”

“What are you so afraid of that you can’t even use magic and just tremble?”

The men were fascinated by Daphne’s appearance and didn’t say much, but then suddenly changed at her continuing weakness and began to get annoyed one by one. Perhaps, regardless of her skills or attitude, she was annoyed by Daphne’s refusal to come over while he was constantly flirting with her.

“Did you seduce our leader by trusting only his face and body? right?”

“If you have nothing to do, stop being an adventurer and go to the window. It will be well received there.”

And the women drove Daphne out of jealousy. Rumors spread like fog not only within the party, but also to other adventurers. The words stabbed Daphne sharper than knives. Whether it was for Daphne or chatting among themselves over drinks.

The reason why he couldn’t use magic properly wasn’t because he was afraid of monsters. What she feared was herself, and the people who looked at her.

“You accepted because your specs were good, but how did you graduate from the Mage Tower?”

“Never come to our party again, go alone.”

I was afraid of belonging somewhere. And the fact that I couldn’t be with anyone was painful. Daphne was weighed down by fear and anguish, struggling to breathe. Days continued when he received only simple requests that anyone could do and solved them alone.

Daphne Epiphone is a coward.

It was one day when I was drinking alone. Daphne visited the adventurer’s guild wearing a hood so that no one would recognize her. The guild was as noisy as usual, but it was different from the usual chaotic bustle. The eyes of the adventurers were all focused on the bulletin board. Daphne stood at a distance so as not to mix with them, and glanced at what posters were posted.

[Emergency] A party of warriors, 1 or 2 people.

Qualifications: Wizard of 4th Circle or higher. Or a person who has experience in performing single commissions of level 2 or higher.

What caught Daphne’s eyes was the recruitment announcement for the hero party.

“Hey, by the way, it’s been a while since the guild was so noisy.”

“Well, I don’t know how many of the guys looking at that have the qualifications.”

As the adventurers who had confirmed the conditions went on their way, Daphne was still standing and looking at the notice. A white piece of paper with only the qualifications and the date and time of the interview attached, without any further explanation. The announcement of the warrior’s party did not ask Daphne for anything. With the drunkenness, Daphne’s heart was shaken. Will I ever be able to be with someone again?

One last time.

The interview day was tomorrow. Daphne stared at the announcement for a long time as if clinging to it, then quietly left the guild without anyone noticing.

and the next day.

‘I must be crazy.’

Daphne’s courage was a time-limited event until this morning. The central street of the royal capital where dozens of talented people formed a long line. Daphne stared blankly at the adventurers chatting among themselves with an overwhelmed expression. Not one of them was worse than Daphne. My heart, which I thought I had solidified in the morning, slowly began to crumble.

“… So, I’m glad I got this opportunity.”

“At this point, I should also look at that warrior’s face. It’s even better if the saintess is with you.”

I didn’t dare to step into that line. My skills are similar to or inferior to them, but I am so scared that I cannot even show my full potential. There seemed to be no reason for a warrior to pick himself up anywhere. Daphne’s toes wandered between the queue and the road home, then got stuck in the queue as others began to line up behind her.

‘Crazy, crazy, Daphne.’

My hair is pure white. I couldn’t think of anything. Daphne was pushed into the building by other volunteers in a swirling vision. A few people looked at Daphne incredulously, and those who knew rumors about her frowned or laughed at her.

‘I have to go back, I have to go back.’

Anxiety that had already started creeping up began to eat away at my body. Daphne’s ears kept telling her everything about what was going on.

“I’m sorry, but we’ll see you next time.”

“You’ve been eliminated, please go back.”

“Thank you for your effort. We’ll see you next time.”

Rejection, rejection, and rejection again.

Daphne’s face slowly turned white. In the meantime, her turn was approaching helplessly. It won’t happen, even if there is. Someone whispered that inside, but Daphne’s body stiffened completely and did not move. Even while some people gave up and left the interview room, Daphne did not budge and remained seated.

‘Why, why isn’t it happening, Daphne?’

Daphne couldn’t understand herself like that. Is there still something left to look forward to, or is it just that you are scared at this moment and have lost the courage to go out of the interview room?

“Next applicant, please come in.”

Someone tapped Daphne on the back. Only then did Daphne realize that her turn had come, and she got up in a hurry and went to the door. I barely managed to put my hand on the door, which I almost couldn’t even knock on, and Daphne knocked on the door and opened it.

“Daphne Epiphone, right?”

Beyond the open door, the hero was staring at Daphne with turquoise eyes. It was the kind of look Daphne had never seen before.