OMEN
One month has passed since I left school.
In that time, I’ve done nothing but solo training at the castle.
Now that I’m the hero, I need to become stronger.
At least, that was my official reason. Really, it was mostly because I had to do something to keep my thoughts from spiraling out of control.
Exercising makes me feel a tiny bit better.
From what I’ve heard, Julius’s death is being kept a secret from the world at large.
My father probably played a big role in this, but it could also be that the other kingdoms felt it would be dangerous to reveal the hero’s death during a time of such unrest.
It seems word has already made its way around on the battlefield, but in this kingdom, at least, where it’s far away from the front lines, there’s still some time before the rumors spread.
Apparently, the demons haven’t attacked since.
Their army sustained considerable losses in the battle as well, so the assumption is that they won’t be making any moves for a while.
That being said, I can’t let my guard down.
This isn’t someone else’s problem for me anymore.
School is apparently still going on as usual.
I often use Fartalk to communicate with Sue, Katia, and the others about it.
“How are things going over there?”
“Same as ever. Aside from a bit of confusion over why you left school so suddenly.”
“All right. Tell everyone I said hello, okay?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Hi, Sue. How are you?”
“I’m well.”
“That’s good. How are things going there?”
“Yuri was called back to the Church today.”
“She was?”
“Yes. Most likely, the information about Julius’s death has been relayed to the Church as well.”
“Right, and since she’s supposed to be the next saint…”
“Exactly. What do you think happened to the saint who worked with Julius?”
“From what I’ve heard, his entire party was lost except for Hyrince.”
“…I see.”
“I’ve been told Hyrince will be returning soon. I should be able to talk to him, I think. I have a lot of questions.”
“Of course. Please try to keep a low profile, okay?”
“Hmm? Father did tell me not to talk about being the hero until it’s formally announced, if that’s what you mean. I won’t do anything stupid.”
“I hope not.”
“C’mon, don’t say that. Or are you just worried about me?”
“Of course I am.”
“Oh. Well…thank you.”
“…You’re welcome.”
We had a lot of conversations like that.
Hyrince is a childhood friend of Julius’s, a warrior who’s fought side by side with him.
I’ve met him a few times when he was together with my brother.
Once Hyrince comes back, I’ll definitely be asking him some questions.
How did my older brother die?
To be honest, I have a hard time believing that my brother could have been defeated so easily when he was so strong.
Did he get caught in a cowardly trap? Or did he face an army too numerous even for him to handle?
There’s no way my brother lost in a one-on-one duel.
When Hyrince is back, I’ll finally be able to get some answers.
We’ve gotten a lot more information about the state of things at the battlefield by now, but most of the facts regarding Julius are still unknown.
All I know is that Hyrince is the only member of my older brother’s party who survived.
The only magic user in this kingdom who’s capable of using Teleport is currently flying about gathering information, but in this case, it might be faster to simply wait for Hyrince’s arrival.
What information the mage has brought back from the battlefield has all been crushing.
On the border between human and demon territory, each side has constructed fortresses to prevent the other from invading.
There were eight fortresses on the human side, which fended off demon invasion for a long time.
But in this battle, the demons sent forces to attack all eight forts.
Although the exact number of soldiers is unknown, it’s said that it was the largest army ever gathered.
The Renxandt Empire, which is the kingdom closest to the border, fought back with all its might alongside reinforcements from neighboring kingdoms.
In terms of sheer scale, it would be no exaggeration to say that this is now an all-out war between humans and demons.
And of the eight human fortresses, half of them have fallen.
The hardest loss is Fort Kusorion, our most important point of defense.
Apparently, the battle was going well until an enormous monster appeared out of nowhere, after which the fort was destroyed.
Based on its sudden appearance, many believe the demons summoned it, but apparently, it caused damage to the demon army as well.
The monster that was summoned is known as a legendary-class monster: the incredibly strong spider monster called a queen taratect.
According to reports, it’s a walking calamity that destroyed an entire army spearheaded by a hero.
Since it also attacked its allies on the demon side, it’s generally thought that it was simply summoned to the battlefield without a contract. But either way, the beast is an enormous threat.
This wasn’t the only attack that utilized monsters, either. Fort Okun was apparently brought down by a swarm of creatures.
In this case, it was a species called the anogratch, also known as the “vengeful monkey.”
There are periodic surges in sightings of this monster near the human-demon border. It’s common knowledge that if one of them is killed, the rest of the group will not rest until they’ve annihilated the killer.
Taking advantage of that trait, the demon army somehow released a live anogratch into Fort Okun, where one of the fortress’s soldiers killed it.
This brought a massive horde of anogratches down onto the fortress seeking revenge, charging the defenses until it eventually fell.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the anogratches then took up residence in the fort, so the demon army won’t be able to use it, either.
The other two forts were brought down by direct military attacks.
Though the other four forts survived, they didn’t come through unscathed, either.
Three of them just barely escaped complete destruction. None of the enemy commanders was captured, so it’s not like we can really consider these victories.
Only Fort Dazarro—which was under the command of Elder Ronandt, said to be the strongest living human mage—was able to achieve complete victory by bringing down the enemy commander without sustaining heavy losses.
Looking at the situation as a whole, it seems like a stalemate at best.
But given how much our defensive position has deteriorated, you could probably call it a defeat.
The demon army probably took a comparable number of casualties, but with most of our forts damaged or destroyed, they’ve managed to open up a path into human territory proper.
There’s no way of knowing when they’ll reorganize their forces and begin the true invasion.
And when the assault does resume, I’ll be standing on the front lines of the battlefield as the new hero.
To be honest, I’m scared.
I always dreamed of someday fighting at Julius’s side, but I thought that day was still in the distant future.
I never thought I would have to take to the battlefield so quickly, and I certainly never imagined that my brother would die.
…No, I should stop lying to myself.
Even if my brother Julius were still alive, I doubt I would have ever fought by his side.
Fighting frightens me.
I’m reluctant to even kill monsters. If my opponent has a clear will and intelligence, there’s no way I’d be able to do it.
But it’s not because I’m kind and caring like Julius was.
I’m a coward.
And yet, I’m supposed to succeed him as the next hero.
No one knows better than I do that I could never become the incredible hero he was.
Which is why the title of Hero feels like a weight bearing down on me.
On top of that, I’m alone now.
No Sue, who’s been by my side since I was born, or Katia, who I’ve spent time with since our previous lives.
They’re at the academy. I can’t take them with me to the battlefield.
Besides, Sue is a princess, and Katia is the daughter of a duke.
Even if this ends up being a battle to determine the fate of mankind—no, especially if it does—I could never put them in such a dangerous position.
Although, it’s possible Yuri will be with me if she’s appointed as the saint.
And that’s only if she’s chosen from among the other candidates for future sainthood.
The only one who’d be able to come with me without worrying about their position is Fei, who’s contracted to me as a familiar. But even then, I’m not sure if I want to bring her.
Before I was appointed the new hero, Fei and I formally entered a contract as master and familiar.
As a result, I can now call Fei to my side from anywhere in the world with the Summoning skill.
Technically, I can also use that skill to give orders that Fei would be forced to obey, but I have no intention of doing that.
The master-familiar relationship is only a formality; we’re still essentially equals.
The contract is really only so that I can summon her if need be.
Honestly, I wasn’t particularly interested in making the contract at all, but Fei was the one who suggested it.
She said things would be more convenient that way.
But as soon as I became the hero, something strange happened to Fei.
When I saw it tucked away in a remote spot of the castle, I couldn’t hide my shocked gasp.
Enshrined in that corner is something that looks like a huge egg covered in a white shell.
And that “egg” is actually Fei.
I have no idea why she suddenly entered this egg-like state.
But when I became the hero and was summoned to the castle, this was what happened.
When I Appraise it, it simply says “Wyrm Egg.” I don’t even know if Fei is alive in there.
Even so, I’m afraid to break the shell.
The shell is quite hard, so even if I wanted to crack it open, it would take a considerable amount of strength.
But if Fei is in there, I can’t just carelessly attack the shell, or I might hurt her.
A scholar of the castle examined it and told me she’s probably alive inside and I should leave it as is, but that hasn’t eased my anxiety at all.
None of my friends are with me, Fei is in this strange condition, and yet, I’m supposed to somehow prepare myself to be a hero.
I feel like the pressure is going to crush me.
That’s why, for now, I’m concentrating entirely on training.
Exercising my body without thinking, to hold my thoughts at bay.
That’s all that I can do.
I continue to push my body past its limits until my mind goes completely blank.
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