I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist-Chapter 19: First Step. (1)
Nella Thar
A wizard on the cusp of the Fifth Circle and on the verge of the Sixth, she was hailed as a genius in the Magic Tower. She specializes in destructive magic. While Arjen and Elroy take care of the big guys, Nella is the one who burns the little guys. Georg was the human rampart, and Iris was behind him, providing support and healing for the wounded.
It was a well-balanced party with the perfect mix of damage, sturdiness, and healing. However, the reality was a little different. Arjen and Elroy were at odds. Iris occasionally sided with Arjen, and Nella sided with me, making life difficult for Isis and Arjen. Georg remained silent.
Then she changed after Arjen and Iris left the party.
“Why are you so slow to catch him? Shouldn’t you have just cut him down? You’re the Hero!”
“If we keep going like this, we’ll die before seeing the Disaster’s toe.”
“If you’re going to do this, why didn’t you keep that holy woman in the party? Didn’t you only throw Arjen out of the party?”
“Why can’t you fight even half as well as Arjen!”
The Nella that once quivered behind the Hero became annoyed at his every action. It was often she clashed with Elroy. On the eve of the battle against the Fifth Disaster, Nella Thar unilaterally tells Elroy that she’s leaving the party and joins Arjen, who defeated the Fourth Disaster.
Coincidentally, the party is wiped out in the Fifth Disasterencounter.
Since Arjen and Isis aren’t in the party, there’s no reason I should bring them along. Someone who does more harm than good to the party. I didn’t have time to deal with them. Daphne alone was too much for me to handle.
“If Nella saw Daphne, she would be furious. With her personality, it would be a huge blow to her pride.”
Georg had said that to me two days ago, early in the morning. I shrugged and was peacefully sipping my tea. The clear sky after the continuous rain made the wind cold.
“What are you going to do?”
“Respect her wishes, I suppose. If Nella chooses to stay with the Hero Party, she and Daphne will have good synergy, but if she chooses not to….”
I looked at Georg with a knowing look. Georg sighed as if the ground were falling away.
“Arjen, after Isis, then Nella.”
“It seems you don’t think Nella will stay with the party.”
“You know she’s not the kind of person to say she’s staying, and Elroy, you’re not the kind of person to try and chase after her.”
I nodded. Georg shot me a glare but then shook his head. Since the last hearing, the way Georg looked at me had changed, the irritation gone, replaced by a vague suspicion.
“Do you really think Daphne can fill Nella’s shoes?”
Even if she was a bitch, she was still a talented wizard, young and on the verge of reaching the sixth circle, the minimum qualification for a Tower Lord. Maybe not as good as Arjen and Iris, but Nella would have been hard to replace. Except for me, of course.
“Of course, I trust her. I recruited her and intend to see this through to the end.”
Because I had no doubt that Daphne would one day break through that wall and shine brightly, I could give Georg a firm answer. Georg narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. It was a habit of his when he had doubts.
“…Yes. We’ll see.”
And then time passed, back to now.
“I wonder if today is the day Nella returns.”
Georg muttered under his breath. All the while, the wizard’s footsteps continued to grow closer. I clenched my jaw and nodded.
Thump, thump, thump.
The footsteps finally reached the door, and Nella burst into the office, flinging it open to break it down. I could hear poor Daphne stumbling backward a little.
Nella Thar stared at the office with the door wide open. She looked first at me with hate-filled eyes, then at Daphne with even more burning eyes, finally at Georg, and then opened her mouth.
“Explain to me what this is about.”
An overbearing voice. Georg closed his eyes, looking like he had a headache. Daphne looked at me uncertainly, and I calmly gave Nella the answer.
“We have recruited a wizard, and her name is Daphne Epifon. She’s in the fourth circle….”
Nella interrupted me and burst out laughing again.
“So, why did you bring in another wizard? There’s a wizard in the party, with eyes open and still breathing. So for what fucking reason do we have another?”
“The more talent in the party, the better. I needed to fill the void left by Arjen and Iris.”
“Why would a wizard fill their shoes? Shouldn’t you be picking up a roaming swordsman, and what did you call that bitch, a talent?”
Nella let out a long breath.
“Get her out of here. I’ll overlook this once. Or if that bitch has any sense, she’ll do it herself.”
Nella growled and moved slowly in Daphne’s direction.
“You can’t do that.”
“What?”
Nella stopped in her tracks and let out a hollow laugh. Her eyes widened sharply, and she began to glance back and forth between Daphne and me, then back to me with a mixture of emotions. Disappointment, anger, then irritation, and jealousy.
“You fell for that bitch? What a Hero! Last time you had the Saintess, and now you’ve found a new one, and you’re not even a horny bastard, so what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
It was heartbreaking. It’s a provocation or an insult that touches me personally. But I heard it right after I fell into this world, and since then, I’ve heard it dozens or hundreds of times. It feels nothing more than a greeting now.
This was not the case for Daphne, who had been listening to the conversation behind me.
“What did you say?”
Daphne’s frosty voice, unfamiliar to me, came from behind my shoulder.
*** Daphne’s POV ***
The day after Elroy had fully recovered from his injuries.
The recovery had been much faster than expected. I was worried that Elroy was overdoing it, but he answered by grabbing the Holy Sword with his right arm and swinging it around. He wasn’t wearing the bandage around his arm anymore. Recalling my handwriting on it, I followed him back to the outskirts of the Capital.
“From now on, let’s focus more on using your destructive magic to take down monsters than on using protective magic on me.”
He looked as confident and relaxed as ever. Of course, even then, I could not produce proper Destruction-type magic in the presence of a monster. Even if my fear of people had been diluted, my past memories still held me and wouldn’t let go.
“Let’s go a little deeper. We’re moving a lot faster than before.”
Elroy said as he flicked the Hornhog away with his foot, leaving it lying on the ground like a piece of meat. Elroy was stronger than before, not in strength or mana but in battle intelligence. He learned to distribute his energy efficiently, taking down several Hornhogs without seeming to exert much effort.
“You’re getting stronger.”
Elroy narrowed his eyes at my comment, then shrugged.
“More like calmer.”
Elroy paced nonchalantly. Still, despite his continuous efforts, I was making no progress. But he didn’t even think to rush me and continued to lead me steadily into the forest each time.
“…Hey, Elroy.”
“Yes?”
Elroy paused in his stride to look back at me. It was raining, but the forest path was muddy. The forest, darker and wetter than usual today, was still and silent, like the deep turquoise color of Elroy’s eyes. I couldn’t resist the urge to speak.
“By any chance, does Elroy like me?”
There had been countless adventurers who had thought of Daphne as a flower. A flower in a thorn bush, of course. She was unbreakable, and no one had even tried to reach into the thorns. They groomed her as they pleased, held out hope, and then disappeared again, blaming her for the thorns.
“…What?”
I looked at Elroy’s changing expression and immediately felt regret and embarrassment. His eyebrows arched, at first in puzzlement, and then that puzzlement slowly gave way to mild disappointment. ‘No, it’s not like that.’ My eyes began to flutter frantically.
No, no, no.
I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.
Please don’t leave me.
I was stupid. I knew Elroy was different. I knew that when Elroy spoke to me, his gaze never strayed, only looking at her eyes. I liked how he looked at me, full of encouragement and trust. I was impatient. I only wanted to escape the impenetrable prison I was stuck in.
So, please…
“…”
“I’m sorry.”
I bowed my head in apology.
Please don’t be disappointed.
Please don’t change the eyes that gave me happiness.
Please don’t hate me.
“…”
The silence was frightening and heavy. I could hear the leaves dripping, the light trickling, and the wind gently blowing the grass.
“Let’s sit for a while.”
Elroy said with a sigh. I nodded and dried the wet rocks with her magic. He didn’t speak for a long time. I met his gaze, then sank my head back into my hands. After a few minutes of listening to that rain, Elroy finally spoke.
“Have you calmed down?”
“Yeah.”
“….”
“….”
“….”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“… You’re upset, aren’t you?”
“A little.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not angry now.”
“….”
“Still, it was a stupid question.”
“…I know.”
I slowly lifted my head. I felt a bitter smile on my lips, a sensation I am used to.
“Well, it might seem that way to others.”
He looked at me with a smile, then stood up and brushed off his pants.
“Not that I give a damn what they say.”
Elroy held out his hand toward Daphne. It was not only a gesture of reconciliation and forgiveness but also a gesture of reassurance. I took it and rose from my seat. My head was clearer, only thinking of one thing.
I’ll stay by the side of this man who believes in me.
My grip on Elroy’s hand strengthened.
***
“You fell for that bitch? What a Hero! Last time you had the Saintess, and now you’ve found a new one, and you’re not even a horny bastard, so what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
And now, there he was, the man who believed in me. He was being treated as nothing more than a horny bastard. It was one thing to insult me. But to insult Elroy? I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t stand it.
My heart pounded. My mana is throbbing. It’s telling me to step forward.
I opened my mouth, glaring at Nella, an emotion I’d never felt.
“What did you say?”
