“I’m glad Zack came with me,” Ares said after we had left the village and walked a fair distance. “But was it really okay for me to bring you along? Wouldn’t it have been better to have a proper adult with us?” I voiced what I had been thinking all along. I had been concerned that it was a bit reckless to send two 14-year-old boys to the capital. When Ares was being sent to the capital, it was decided that someone from the village would accompany him. Initially, several young unmarried men were considered for the role, but Ares chose me. However, strangely, no one objected to this decision. “Even if an adult came who I’m not close to, it would just be awkward. Besides, all those people who flatter me as a hero and want me to fight monsters are the kind who aren’t willing to risk themselves,” Ares criticized the villagers, something he doesn’t usually do. I was surprised to hear that.
Indeed, among the villagers who were candidates to be Ares’ traveling companion, some were openly pleased that they weren’t chosen. They knew that the journey would be dangerous. Although Ares rarely spoke ill of others, he was clearly dissatisfied with the villagers’ attitudes. “Well, the monsters are strong, so I don’t blame them. My parents were also killed, and I don’t want to fight anyone,” I learned that both of my parents were adventurers who made a living by fighting monsters. They were killed during a major battle against the demon king’s army. “But if I become a hero, I’ll have to fight those monsters. I’ll have to defeat the demon king, too. What does it mean to be a hero? I never wanted to be one. But if I don’t do it, the world will be destroyed. It’s a terrible story,” Ares said with a dry laugh. “…Sometimes at night, I heard my mother crying. She really didn’t want me to become a hero,” I also knew that. Ares’ parents, who were also my foster parents, had doubts about the credibility of the prophecy. They didn’t want Ares to become a hero if they could help it. However, Ares’ grandfather, the village chief, was delighted with Ares and most of the villagers celebrated Ares as a hero.
「Don’t worry! Ares can handle it! He can use swords, magic, and even divine miracles! He’s defeated many monsters before. There’s no one in the capital who can match him!」 I forced a bright tone of voice, even though it was a bit of a stretch.
“I don’t know… There are no specialized warriors, mages, or priests in Tarriz Village. Everyone here is just an amateur. Even if we appear strong here, we don’t know how it will be in reality,” Ares said, and I was shocked to hear him speak like that, even though I had been by his side the whole time.
“Oh, sorry about that. I guess I said something unnecessary after leaving the village. Even though I’ve decided to go as the hero, I’m feeling a little timid,” Ares said apologetically.
After that, Ares stopped speaking timidly. But I couldn’t shake the feeling of what had been said during that exchange.
The journey was going smoothly. In the villages we stopped at along the way, Ares negotiated like an adult, and we obtained water and food in exchange for a small amount of money. Even when we encountered monsters, we tried to avoid fighting and only fought when it was unavoidable. Even in battle, Ares ensured my safety and fought calmly and steadily, using his attack and healing magic accurately and finishing off monsters with his sword. He truly looked like a hero.
We were now walking on a road through a dense forest. The sky should have been a clear blue, but the large trees on both sides of the road were so tall that they blocked out the sky, causing me to feel a vague sense of anxiety. This road used to be a busy route leading to the capital, but since the appearance of the Demon King, the forest had become infested with monsters, and there was no human traffic at all. We hadn’t encountered anyone in half a day of walking. On the other hand, we had encountered many monsters, but Ares had defeated them all with ease.
“He really is amazing. Ares could’ve done this all by himself, couldn’t he?”
I also had a sword for self-defense, but I never had the chance to use it. During our journey, I only practiced with it as a partner for Ares. “Zack, you rely on me too much. Doing something alone is tough. I can keep moving forward because you’re here with me. When I learned the sword, studied magic, and was taught healing magic, it was the same. At first, everyone starts doing it together, but when things don’t go well, one by one drops out. In the end, it’s always just you and me who are left,” Ares said with a slightly strained but cheerful voice. “I never learned magic or divine miracles, though,” I replied with a laugh. “That’s a shame, but you stuck with me until the end. That’s impressive enough. It’s hard to continue doing something that doesn’t go well. I was lucky that I could handle many things, but if I couldn’t do something well, I might have given up halfway like everyone else,” Ares said. “I can’t even imagine Ares not being good at something. But I also wanted to learn at least one thing,” I said honestly.
As I was about to say more, Ares suddenly stopped. I also stopped and looked around, sensing something was wrong. It was too quiet. Even the sounds of animals in the forest were gone. “Oh, you noticed. As expected of the hero,” someone said as they appeared from behind a large tree in front of us. It was a person, but with purple skin, a muscular body twice the size of a human, ears that were probably twice as long as ours, and bright red eyes. “Run! It’s a demon!” Ares shouted. Hearing that, I immediately started running behind me. Demons were servants of the Demon King, and although they looked like humans, they were overwhelmingly stronger in both physical and magical abilities. I ran away immediately, partly because I was scared of demons, but also because I didn’t want to slow Ares down. Soon, I heard the clash of swords. Ares had started fighting the demon. I ran into the forest and watched the fight from a safe distance behind the trees. The demon swung a giant sword that I had never seen before, with the force of a gust of wind.
“I heard that the prophet had found the hero, but he is still just a kid. If we kill him while he’s still growing, it’s not a big deal.” The relaxed demon attacked, and Ares was on the defensive. Ares calmly dodged attacks that could not only cause injury, but also death, and blocked those he couldn’t dodge with his sword. Ares endured the attacks as time slowly ticked by. The demon, who initially showed no signs of worry, eventually became impatient. “You’re pretty good at defense, but what about magic?” Frustrated with his inability to land a hit, the demon stopped using his sword and instead tried to cast a spell with his left hand. Ares didn’t miss the opportunity. “Ha!” He stepped forward like a released arrow, quickly slashing at the demon’s outstretched hand. Several of the demon’s fingers flew into the air. “Gyaaa! You brat!” The injured demon quickly regained his grip on his sword and attempted to counterattack Ares. However, his sword lacked the sharpness it had just moments ago. (He can’t hold his sword properly since he lost his fingers!) Was Ares aiming for this? If so, that was impressive! Ares immediately switched to the offensive, and the demon was forced to defend.
Ares did not aim for a big blow, instead he targeted the opponent’s openings and dealt small amounts of damage. “Ku, this!” The demon, who had countless small wounds, gradually weakened in the eyes of the onlookers. Victory was within reach, but Ares continued to fight steadily. Finally, the demon, who had missed Ares’ sharp blow, dropped his sword with a clang on the ground. Ares took advantage of this moment and swung his sword towards the demon’s neck. However, the demon blocked the strike with his empty left hand. Although the blade dug into his arm, it did not cut him in half.
On the contrary, the demon seemed to have absorbed the sword with the bulging muscles of his arm. “It won’t come out!?” This was the first time Ares had raised his voice in the fight. “I’ll let you have the left hand,” the demon grinned and grew a huge claw on his right hand, then attacked Ares. Ares released his sword and tried to avoid the attack, but his abdomen was slightly slashed. Against the approaching demon, Ares chanted a spell. “Wind!” He aimed the wind magic at the demon’s eyes. “Tch!” The demon dodged the spell, but in the meantime, Ares had moved back and widened the distance between them. The demon pulled out the sword that was embedded in his left hand and threw it into the forest behind him. His left hand hung down limply. He probably couldn’t use it properly. Ares muttered something. Perhaps it was a spell, but the magic he knew was basic and unlikely to be effective against the demon.
(Oh no!) Thinking that, I ran towards Ares with my sword in hand from within the forest. The demon started moving. Ares drew the demon’s attention enough for him to cast a fire spell. The fire wrapped around the demon’s head, but he kept charging. Ares managed to avoid him, but his movements seemed slow. Was it because of the wound on his stomach from earlier? “Ares, catch!” I threw my own sword towards Ares. The demon raised his right claw. Ares skillfully caught the spinning sword and jumped into the demon’s chest, piercing him deeply. “Got him!” I exclaimed, but, “I’ll give you a mercy kill, but you’ll be coming with me…” The demon, impaled by the sword, sank his large fangs into Ares’ neck. Blood spurted out vigorously from Ares’ neck. “Ares!” My scream echoed through the forest.
