I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me - Chapter 50



49 – [In the Land of Elves – 17]

Titania definitely felt human.

Rumors weren’t reliable, after all, but perhaps the rumors themselves weren’t entirely lies.

Titania herself said that the image known to the world wasn’t that far off from the truth, and admitted that she’d made selfish choices for the elves many times in the past.

She must’ve abandoned morality and ethics as a ruler in the moments she needed to.

Besides, Titania ascended to the throne after the war, during Elvenheim’s most chaotic time.

To calm Elvenheim during that chaos, she must’ve had to steel her heart, abandon human feelings, and focus solely on their own interests to survive.

And maybe, as time passed, peace settled in, and Titania grew older, that harshness and ruthlessness might’ve faded away a bit.

She was more understanding than I thought.

That was what mattered most.

‘And Livia, your past is catching up to you.’

Of course, Livia’s choice wasn’t that wrong, considering she had to deal with the absorption-type monster quickly.

Life over wood, that must’ve been her mindset, and if she hadn’t done that, even if they’d won in the end, they wouldn’t have avoided casualties.

But that strike also hit the World Tree, delivering a final blow to an already weakened World Tree, and the problem spilled out.

Titania said it was a problem that was going to happen anyway, but to not hold her accountable for this was, to say the least, respect for Livia who had defeated the Demon King.

‘If I can talk to the spirit of the World Tree, I can do something about it.’

The problem is, I don’t know if the World Tree’s spirit is like any other spirit.

I didn’t even know the World Tree had a spirit in the first place.

If it’s a spirit guarding the World Tree, which is called a gift from the Goddess, there’s a high possibility it’s a spirit so powerful that even an upper-class spirit would be no match.

Although each spirit’s characteristics vary slightly, in some cases, it’s not that a spirit summoner uses a spirit, but rather, the spirit uses the spirit summoner.

It was rare, and it was an event that felt like a swordsman being killed by their own sword, so it wasn’t something considered a risk.

It’s simply that, not being at a level to handle this as a spirit summoner, you might try to challenge a high-ranking spirit and get beaten instead.

Spirits are obedient to those they deem to be of their level, but are quite cold to those they don’t.

That’s a trait all spirits share, regardless of whether they’re upper, middle, or lower class.

Like how humans walk on two feet and breathe through their nose and mouth – a natural trait.

‘The problem is, does the World Tree’s spirit want to contract with me, or even talk to me?’

Spirits are temperamental.

If they don’t think you’re up to their level, you really can’t contract with them.

It’s not just, “I don’t want to contract with you.”

Some spirits will even take their own lives to avoid being forcefully contracted, and if not, they’ll resist fiercely.

To them, making a contract with a spirit mage of mismatched standing was an utter disgrace, it seemed.

So, even if I were to go, if the World Tree’s spirit didn’t like me, or deemed me too low, there would be little I could do.

A human could appeal to such emotions, but why would a spirit side with humanity?

Because the concept of humanity is absolutely absent, and they are only beings of nature, existing where they are.

Humanity? Who cares if it goes extinct.

Even if humanity crumbles, fire will still burn, water will still flow.

That’s how their mindset is, you could say.

‘But, once a contract is made, they’re obedient, they’ll follow any command.’

So, if I could somehow manage to form a contract, it’d be our victory, but whether that would be easy, there was no way to know.

“……”

My head was a mess.

The sun was setting, and I had a lot to do tomorrow.

Should I get some sleep for the sake of tomorrow?

Livia.

Titania.

Sylphie.

Elf.

Reina.

So many things to worry about, trying to keep track of it all was making my head ache.

No matter what, I needed to worry about everything, and since neither Livia nor Sylphie could handle it all, it was up to me.

I knew it was a losing proposition for myself, but isn’t that what good deeds are? A losing proposition.

I hoped that someday, someone would help me even if it meant they’d lose out.

And even if not, I really hoped that some transcendent being was watching my good deeds.

I wouldn’t call myself religious, not to the point of being a believer, but I didn’t deny faith either, and this was why I sometimes prayed.

‘In a world where all good and bad deeds come back around, what could be more joyful than someone watching?’

No one knows what happens after death.

There’s the possibility of reincarnation, written in the scriptures given by the Goddess, so that’s generally accepted, but it’s not a certainty.

The righteous, the good, live happily.

Those who commit evil, face punishment and suffering.

That’s why people have faith and desire religion.

They crave the reassurance that some transcendent being is watching over them.

I didn’t care either way, and my faith wasn’t that deep, but I wanted it to be so I believed.

“Should I head back?”

Would they still be training at the training grounds?

Unless Livia had a sudden fit, all I could picture was her single-handedly beating them all down.

Even with that injury, she’d be stronger than most of the demon army’s officers.

Maybe she’d struggle against a higher ranking officer but she could definitely take down someone lower ranking.

I guess Livia going all out right now would be similar to me going all out with spirit integration, I thought.

And my power, with its big time limit, was naturally destined to fall behind in a long fight.

‘She really is amazing.’

That strength, no one could underestimate it.

Even if they wanted to, seeing him fight before their eyes would leave them speechless.

“……Hmm?”

Turning my head, I saw various food ingredients.

Hmm.

I can eat porridge, so maybe I should add a little seasoning to make it tasty.

My recovery rate is much faster than I thought, so maybe I’m starting to be okay.

Even though there’s still a hole in my heart, and my head will reveal the inside if I take the bandages off.

A hole in my heart and it’s still beating properly.

It’s like my skull is showing if I take off the bandages, but I’m actually fine.

Just what is that person, really?

If he were a monster, he’d be the strongest monster, and humanity would have already perished.

“Give me that.”

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to choose, someone beside me spoke first.

A familiar voice.

“Huh?”

Turning my head, the woman met my eyes, and naturally touched her own neck.

“Reina.”

“Royce.”

The archer of the hero party.

And one of the three who betrayed Livia.

Reyna Forest.

“A lot of unexpected encounters today, it seems.”

*

“What do you even want to say to me?”

“Don’t be so wary, like a cat in an alleyway.”

“Who are you calling a cat…”

If she hated it that much, she could have refused my offer, but she followed me after I suggested a coffee, so I guess Reyna had something to say too.

Reyna was gaunt, looking significantly more haggard than I remembered.

She had dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn’t been sleeping recently, and no matter where I looked, she wasn’t in a healthy state.

“I had a meal with Titania.”

“Pfft-hahaha!!”

Disgusting.

“Wait, what? Cough! Cough! …You had a meal with my mother? Just the two of you?”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to suffocate…”

“Surprisingly, we had a good conversation.”

“What.”

“Your throat.”

“Ugh.”

The moment I mentioned her neck, Reina’s expression twisted as she touched her own throat.

“Reina, I believe anyone can commit a sin.”

“…….”

“I believe you have at least a shred of sense.”

Her hand trembled.

“I can’t be forgiven.”

“That’s not for you to decide. What you need to do is wait for your judgment. If you truly feel guilt, then you should go out into the world and properly accept your punishment.”

“…….”

“Livia would want that too. At least, if you tell the whole truth and agree to be punished properly, Livia would be relieved. She wouldn’t have to cut down someone who was once her comrade.”

“She should be relieved, she’s getting revenge on the person who made her like this.”

“Does she seem like the kind of person who would be happy about something like that?”

“…….”

When Livia first encountered Reina, she didn’t act rashly due to anger and hatred. She calmly asked Reina for an explanation and wanted an answer.

When Reina didn’t answer, Livia even went as far as to try and kill her.

For Livia, it wasn’t about immediately killing someone just for being evil, unless they were actively in the process of dying.

It was about hearing the reason, and if there was a crime, then facing the punishment.

And above all, it might be even more so because it was a “sin against her.”

Livia is the type to completely disregard her own serious injuries while overreacting to the smallest wounds of others.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she’d be more upset about Silphy falling and getting a scratch than she was about losing an arm.

If the betrayal of the hero party hadn’t been directed at Livia, she might have sliced them all down on sight without hesitation.

But the victim was only herself.

No one else had been hurt, yet, besides Livia.

That’s why, as the one who suffered, she wanted them judged by the law.

To receive a just punishment.

To properly bear the weight of their sins.

‘She still has that habit of devaluing herself.’

It wasn’t something that could be viewed entirely positively, but right now Livia was grappling with her identity, and it was better to let her reach her own answers than to needlessly interfere.

Unless Livia sought counseling herself, of course.

“Do you think Olivia will forgive us?”

“No.”

“…….”

“Livia doesn’t forgive evil. The only reason she let you live and asked about the situation is because she was the only victim. That’s the kind of person she is, right?”

“…….”

“If someone else had been there, and she’d killed them for trying to cover up the assassination attempt on Livia… and Livia had witnessed it, that meeting earlier would have been much bloodier.”

If Livia had seen an innocent person die.

Then they would be transformed from former comrades into targets to be killed.

It’s okay to cross the line with her.

But taking the life of another person, that she could never, ever condone.

If you killed, be prepared to die.

“While Livia still calls you Reina, and reaches out her hand, take it.”

At least Livia is still giving you a chance.

Atone for everything yourself.

Come before me and beg.

Admit your sins.

If you do just that.

I will punish you not as a b*stard, but as someone who made a mistake.

I too will pray that your punishment lightens your sins.

That you won’t make the same error again.

The punishment won’t completely erase your sin, but I hope it gives you a chance to stand on your own two feet again.

That you can live that life, even as a sinner.

‘You of all people should know what this means, Reina.’

Looking at me with wavering eyes, I had a sliver of hope.

I desperately hoped she understood the meaning.

But.

“……What am I supposed to do, then?”

“……Hmm.”

It seemed Reina was already broken.

Her unfocused eyes, where were they even looking?

A surge of anger flared, but I swallowed it down.

‘This is the last chance Livia gave me, I can’t just throw it away.’

So then.

What should I say?