I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 37



36 – [In the Land of Elves – 04]

“So this is the Eastern Continent.”

“You actually came….”

Sebas fidgeted with his beard, looking troubled, while Lilis, on the other hand, seemed to be in high spirits.

It wasn’t a lie that she hadn’t been feeling well, so Lilis had avoided going out as much as possible, and she hadn’t even had the experience of riding a boat before, but she had done it now, and it wasn’t a bad feeling.

It made her think that you never lose out by experiencing things in life.

“Lady Lilis, if His Majesty finds out, he won’t let this pass.”

“Well, if my terrible hunch is right, which side wouldn’t let this pass? I’ve had some grievances with the kingdom for a while now.”

“Those are not words for a princess to say.”

“True, I’ve benefited a lot as a noble. If I were a commoner, I would have died long ago, right? I was able to survive like this because I was a noble, even a king’s daughter. I’m grateful for that, but that’s a separate matter.”

If the person who saved your life told you, “From now on, you’re my slave,” would you become their slave?

She was thankful for being raised and loved the kingdom.

But that was that, and this was this.

You shouldn’t mistake what you need to do.

“Haa, I worry if you’ll ever be able to get married, at this rate,” Sebas sighed.

“Hmm, I’m not going to be king nor do I have the desire, so is it really necessary for me to marry?”

“Isn’t it part of a noble’s duty?”

“It is…but I’m waiting for a fateful encounter.”

“You’ve been reading those romance novels again and letting your imagination run wild.”

“Sebas, what do you even see me as?”

“Treating you like a big-bodied granddaughter, milady.”

“You wanna get fired for real?”

Lyris let out a small sigh.

Thankfully, her recent physical state hadn’t been bad, so she’d be fine.

“Sebas, get me the fastest carriage in this city ready. We’re heading to Elvenheim right away.”

“For the Kingdom’s Princess to go to Elvenheim without any notice, that could easily become an international issue.”

Lyris spoke with her arms crossed.

“If Olivia was truly betrayed so miserably, that’s a worldwide issue! Hurry!”

“Understood.”

He’d gotten here as fast as he could, but it probably wouldn’t be enough to make the timing.

From noble mtl dot com

Lyris’ actions might be a little distant from “actions for the Kingdom”. This was one of the reasons why she thought she wasn’t suited to be a king.

Lyris’ father, King Cromwell, held her abilities in high regard, but she always tried to not receive any expectations.

If they tried to make her king, she would’ve died from the trouble, probably.

She, who couldn’t prioritize the kingdom over everything, was definitely not fit to be king.

“They can just give the throne to that damn brother of mine.”

“Please stop calling Prince Felix ‘that damn brother’…….”

“Everyone is being fooled by Felix’s good-boy face. That kid is a mischievous little devil.”

“He only acts like that with you, milady.”

“Am I that easy to push around?”

“Maybe.”

*When we get back, I’m going to kick her.*

Thinking that, Lyris said,

“Alright, let’s head straight to Elvenheim.”

*

“Haa, haa….”

I breathed roughly.

“Livia, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just a little out of breath…”

It had been almost a month since we solved the incident at the half-elf village and headed back towards Elvenheim.

It was almost time to arrive, and sure enough, dense forests were spreading all around, the forest smell piercing my nose, similar to the smell when I first visited Elvenheim.

But instead, my physical condition was getting worse and worse.

Now, even the holy sword couldn’t completely block my Death God’s curse, it was leaking through.

No, from the beginning, Royce had thought that the holy sword only suppressed it, and didn’t stop its progress.

I could probably hold out enough to reach Elvenheim, but the problem wasn’t that, I could feel my combat strength decreasing.

Death was coming for me, that much was certain.

It’s scary.

Hmm.

It’s scary.

No matter what I do, it’s scary.

It’s terrifying no matter where I look.

‘It’s okay.’

I calm myself.

My fear is natural and not wrong.

It was proof, you could say, that I was Olivia Reinhart.

I couldn’t be a hero before I was Olivia anymore, and more than anything, I told myself that I didn’t want to live that way.

Recently, I’ve been thinking.

About a future where I achieve a human kind of happiness, instead of being a hero.

I like cooking, so I dream of opening a restaurant, running it with Lois, and living a married life like ordinary people.

Even if not that specifically, I wanted to try living like a person, in any form.

In my short 22 years of life, there hasn’t been a single time I wasn’t a hero, and there hasn’t been a chance for Olivia Reinhart to step forward. But that opportunity had finally come, and I didn’t want to let it go.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh, yeah?”

“You’re sweating a lot.”

“What, are you worried?”

“Am I not allowed to be?”

“……Yeah, you are.”

I fiddled with my hair, using it to cover my mouth, hiding my embarrassment.

“You’re always worrying about me.”

“It’s natural for one person to worry about another.”

“If it’s gonna be anything, I wish he’d say, ‘She’s my woman, so I worry about her.’”

“It’s still…ambiguous.”

“This guy, he’s really difficult.”

Thankfully, I still had the energy to joke around.

My condition had worsened quickly, but I was still okay for now.

I could definitely make it to Elvenheim, but if she said she didn’t like it, there was nothing I could do but bow my head.

I thought about taking her by force, even sneaking her away, but something didn’t feel right.

“Are Royce and Silphy alright? The forest path is rough.”

“I lived in the forest.”

“Elven lineage makes us somewhat stronger in the forest. No problem.”

Ah.

Come to think of it, there was that.

They called it the World Tree’s blessing, those with Elven blood were somewhat stronger in the forest.

From the five senses to physical ability and stamina, they all got a boost, which is why fighting elves in the forest wasn’t wise, and it’s also why Elvenheim, despite its small numbers, was able to wage war against humans for so long.

Especially Elvenheim, its blessing was so strong that the forest wouldn’t even burn, or so they say.

I don’t know if that’s actually true, though.

And also, because the trees regenerate so quickly, the ones I chopped down are probably starting to recover, if not fully regenerate.

I did cut down quite a lot, so complete recovery is a pretty shameless thing for me to even consider.

“Titania will probably know we’ve entered her territory soon.”

“Oh really?”

“Grandma… Titania’s connection to the World Tree is stronger than other elves, so she can manage this entire forest. Meaning, she probably already knows we’re here. And once we go deeper, that’s where Titania’s attack range starts.”

“Attack range? Like she can shoot a bow?”

“No, I mean Titania can borrow the World Tree’s power and use something close to omnipotence, though not quite.”

“Hmm.”

“But Livia is stronger.”

“Really?”

I don’t know how it’d go in my current state.

My condition’s bad, so I might actually be weaker than Titania.

At least at this distance it’s manageable, but if she uses that power to attack me the moment I step inside, it’d be pretty dangerous.

“Royce, I’m nervous right now.”

“I see.”

“I’ve always solved things with force, and I thought it wasn’t a bad method, but now force alone won’t cut it, and I don’t have enough of it anymore, so this is a problem.”

“Frankly, personally, I think you don’t need it.”

“Really?”

“You saved the world, so even if you got treated like that, no one could say a word. No, to be precise, they shouldn’t say a word. Even if you did nothing but play and eat, the people of the world shouldn’t curse you.”

“Even so, that’s a bit…”

“It seems people don’t truly understand what saving the world means. No one guarantees that tomorrow will be the same as today, and people quickly forget the person who protected them and don’t even think about their grace.”

It was like a realization again.

Royce seemed angry that I hadn’t been treated properly.

When Royce picked me up, he was furious that I had been betrayed and abandoned after defeating the Demon King.

You’ve got your own shitty past, too.

Yet you can rage at the misery of others.

You could easily be a villain, and it’d be fine if you lived like one, but you choose to live well.

Helping people.

Wanting to believe in goodness.

I liked that so much.

A little exaggerated, maybe, but I could even say you were the ideal person I’d hoped for. Even if it wasn’t about romance, just the fact that someone this good existed in the world I’d fought for made me happy.

It’s not just people doing good without thinking, but even if their motivations are a bit twisted, if they do good, I’ll call it good.

Like, someone doing good because they want to meet a girl, if they’re not just half-assing that good deed, I’m okay with that.

Black heart or whatever, as long as they’re not doing a sloppy job, it’s fine.

Unfortunately, people with ulterior motives usually focus on those motives and half-ass the good deeds themselves.

“…….”

“Why? Something worrying you?”

“Coming here, I was expecting to fight a pursuer at least once. But it’s quieter than I imagined.”

“Yeah, it’s definitely quiet.”

Since Alex would know I’m alive, I figured he’d do something fitting.

One of those things was sending pursuers to assassinate me again or even coming himself, but nothing’s happened, everything’s just gone by quietly, which is weird.

In a way, it’s a good thing, but Alex isn’t the kind of guy who doesn’t prepare, so it’s hard to be just happy about it.

“……!”

*thwack*, *whoosh*!!

Flames flared, incinerating the incoming arrows with precise passage.

“Thanks.”

I smiled at Royce.

Then, immediately, my hand went to the sword at my hip.

It was the sword I’d received in Half Village.

Not a great sword, but better than a wooden one, I figured, and accepted it as payment for services rendered.

“Elves.”

“They’ve already surrounded us.”

“…….”

“…….”

“Livia? …Ah, I see.”

Royce was startled for a moment by my blankness, but quickly glanced at the direction I was looking and nodded, understanding.

“Hello, Reina. …Long time no see?”

“…….”

The archer of the hero party.

The elven princess, daughter of Titania.

Reina Forest was there.