I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 46



45 – [In the Land of Elves – 13]

The Hero, a position chosen by the Goddess.

Therefore, there was no guarantee that the Hero was necessarily the strongest.

At most, they were the Goddess’s chosen knight, not really proof of being the strongest. That’s why there were always a few people who might be stronger than the Hero in any given era.

However.

Humans occasionally create monstrous exceptions.

“I found out something scary.”

“Is there something scarier than that sight?”

The soldier elves muttered awkwardly.

From the start, Olivia had easily won every match, effortlessly blocking every attack, immediately countering, and then pointing out what they were doing wrong.

The most astonishing thing was that Olivia understood her opponents’ weaknesses after just one exchange. Her absurd observational skills, at least in combat, made it seem like she truly was blessed by the Goddess.

“That person, during all our sparring matches, didn’t move an inch from that spot.”

“What? No, wait. …So, all of us were beaten by someone who didn’t even move from their spot?”

“More than that, look at her condition, it’s clearly not normal. Just how strong is she when she’s in a normal state?”

Silphi nodded in agreement.

Sylphy had traveled with Olivia, but most monsters fell in a single blow. In fact, she was so strong, it made you wonder if there was even a monster that *couldn’t* be killed in one hit by her.

Olivia said herself that she was weakened, that her current state was comparable to a Demon Lord’s executive, but if that was the case, how strong were the Demon Lord’s executives *really*, and how strong was Olivia in her prime?

When I heard that the hero party’s companions were afraid of Olivia, I’d thought, “What’s that supposed to mean?”, but seeing her endless strength now, I could understand why they might be.

Well, even so, they crossed a line they shouldn’t have.

Olivia is a considerate and kind person, but she doesn’t let those who commit crimes off the hook.

Depending on the circumstances, she might do things to lighten their punishment, but she wouldn’t deny punishment itself.

No, maybe, even for the sake of the victim, she might even make sure they’re punished even more severely.

Right now, I didn’t really find it scary, but if that ideology was extreme, there would have been reason to be afraid.

“Don’t make me laugh! Our elven guard has their pride! We at least have to make her move from that spot!”

“Pride or no pride, you’re all getting knocked out in one hit.”

“I think my posture’s getting better. The hero is skilled with the bow as well as the sword.”

“Ugh! This isn’t sparring, it’s training, isn’t it?! Anyway!! At least I’ll make her move from that spot!!”

“Good idea? The hero said we could keep challenging her until she said it was too much, so let’s get back in line.”

“I-I’m going to challenge her with a different weapon.”

The elves, forgetting all about the bad rumors about the hero, were all diligently sparring with Olivia.

Well, it certainly looked more like training than sparring, and after defeating them, Olivia pointed out each of their flaws.

It seemed Olivia wasn’t just being confident for nothing when she boldly claimed she could handle any weapon.

“Sylphy-nim, aren’t you going to go?”

“I, um… I might ruin the good mood.”

Ress came to stand next to Sylphy as she spoke hesitantly.

The training ground had a good vibe right now, and for this moment at least, there was no difference between humans and elves.

But if a half-elf, a virtual impurity, were to cut in, the good atmosphere might instantly crumble, leading to a bad end.

If the atmosphere was blazing brightly like this, wouldn’t it be better to see it through to a good finish?

“That skill you showed, creating a bow with magic and firing it so quickly, it was impressive.”

“Ah, well…”

Les looked at Sylphy’s hands.

“Those calluses, you haven’t practiced for just a day or two, have you?”

“That’s the same for you, Les.”

“Mine is a duty. Not because I’m the captain of the guard, but because as a soldier guarding Elvenheim, I simply couldn’t slack off on training. But you, even though you don’t have to, you trained so hard.”

“…Maybe it’s just that I didn’t want to forget.”

“What do you mean?”

At Les’s words, Sylphy smiled awkwardly.

“That I’m an elf.”

“…”

“Maybe I’m doing this because I don’t want to forget that I’m the same kind, that elf blood flows through me. At the moment when I shoot an arrow, I can feel that I’m an elf, can’t I?”

Especially when she felt she was hitting the target at the same time she shot, and actually did hit, she could feel that the blood of elves who were good at archery was flowing inside her.

For Sylphy, who ended up longing for a sense of belonging no matter what, the existence of the elves was especially important.

And since Titania had ultimately taught Sylphy how to shoot a bow, she had thought of it as her only connection and had trained every single day.

She hadn’t exactly gained practical experience, but she had never skipped a day of training, shooting targets with a bow, and she had instinctively developed the habit of drawing her bow quickly.

“In that brief moment, you created a bow with magic and shot it to save the children. That skill was also impressive. It was better than most elves.”

“That’s too kind.”

“No, it’s not just empty praise. Your skill, Silphy, is considerable. Truly, you carry the blood of Titania.”

“Do I look like it? I’ve only sullied the royal line.”

“…….”

Les fell silent for a moment, gazing at Silphy.

His eyes looked deeply sorrowful.

“Your thinking like that is surely a sin of Titania’s… of this Elvenheim. …Please, speak with Titania again. She would never hate you. She’s lived in solitude for so long, she fears far too much.”

“That Titania is afraid?”

“Yes… of loss, of betrayal… of the pain that arises from all connections. Because of that, she committed the sin of turning her back on you.”

“…….”

“And that sin eventually spread to all half-elves. Our Titania is a savior who has protected Elvenheim for a long time, a magnificent being.”

Les spoke, carefully fiddling with his sword.

“If she falls to hell, I would fall with her. She is the benefactor who changed my life.”

“I see.”

“But, she also goes on rampages in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, I am dull, and I have no talent for speech, so I can’t think of a brilliant way to fix Titania’s mistakes.”

“…I don’t have any brilliant ideas either.”

“Perhaps. But, perhaps new water will flow into Elvenheim, which has become stagnant, even rotten. …I think you resemble Titania, Silphy. In a way, even more so than Reina.”

Silphy gasped.

Reina was Titania’s daughter.

Silphy was Titania’s grandson.

But, if Silphi resembled Titania more than Reina, wasn’t that kind of contradictory?

Whether it was the generational throwback they only talked about, manifesting in Silphi, was impossible to know, but as for looks, it was definitely Silphi, not Reina, who resembled Titania.

The problem was, she was a *he*, and yet, he resembled her.

“Have some confidence. You’re strong. …It’s unbelievable how little combat experience you have.”

“Haha….”

He laughed awkwardly.

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Just then, Olivia waved her hand.

“Silphi!”

“Yes? Are you going back already?”

“Would you teach me archery? You’re better at it than I am.”

“Uh, me!?”

Approaching Olivia naturally, Silphi froze.

The elves, who had only been paying attention to Olivia, all naturally shifted their gaze to Silphi.

And upon noticing his ears, they all reacted.

“A half-elf…”

“Why is a half-elf here?”

“He seems to be the Hero’s companion?”

“A half-elf, huh.”

Silphi swallowed.

He felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere, overwhelmed by the sheer number of them.

Looking toward Les, I saw he was just staring at Sylphy.

Was she really that much like Titania?

To be told she resembled someone who achieved so much, it even made me feel a strange sense of shame. She was absolutely not a good person to me, but was she amazing as Titania?

“…….”

One of the elves, who had been looking at Sylphy, slowly approached her.

“I heard you made a bow with magic?”

“Ah, yes… It’s embarrassing, but I have royal blood.”

“Hmm.”

There must be many elves who didn’t know about Sylphy.

The time Sylphy spent in Elvenheim was very short, and she had almost no contact with other elves due to Titania, so there were few elves who actually met Sylphy.

Besides, quite some time has passed, so there must be people who have forgotten.

“Just because you have royal blood doesn’t necessarily mean you’re good at archery.”

“That’s right, Reina has royal blood too, but there are elves better at archery than her!”

“Don’t act so high and mighty just because you have High Elf blood, you half-breed!”

I don’t remember acting like that.

I wanted to ask Olivia and Les for help, but both of them remained silent, just staring at Sylphy.

It felt like I was being tested or something.

Sylphy calmed her pounding heart and took a deep breath.

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

“So, how about we settle this with archery?”

“What was that?”

“If you win, I’ll quietly back down. But if *I* win, you’ll quietly admit that your archery skills are inferior to mine and take lessons from me.”

“Ho, hooo.”

There was a cracking sound, audible enough to tell that the elves were collectively furious.

Elves specialized in archery, which meant they had considerable pride in their skills.

Poking at that was a surefire way to get a reaction.

And it wasn’t just anyone; it was a ‘half-elf’ who had said that. At that point, there was no option of backing down for them.

“Hahahah! Hahahaha!!”

Olivia burst out laughing.

Then she said,

“Okay, then I’ll be the judge. How’s that?”

“Great, Hero-nim. ……Just you wait, Half.”

Silphy placed a hand over her chest, as if to calm her heart, which was pounding with tension, and spoke again.

“Silphy, that’s my name… not Half, you know.”

“You’ve got guts, if you win I’ll remember that name… until the moment I die.”

“Understood.”

Being a half-elf meant having to push yourself from a disadvantageous and unreasonable starting point.

But that didn’t mean she could give up.

Everyone Silphy thought was amazing told Silphy she was amazing.

So, shouldn’t we at least once, seduced by the hype, cross this irrational line?

“Let’s do it, a match.”