The giants were his subordinates. He knew very well that the giants wouldn’t hurt Arlo, so after Lance fell, he only worried about Lance’s safety and forgot about Arlo on the surface.
But Lance didn’t know that the giants wouldn’t hurt Arlo. He was worried about the innocent divine messenger surrounded by giants, afraid that Arlo would be in danger.
Good, Lance finally had a divine messenger in his heart!
Misa, seeing Lance’s worried expression, coughed forcefully a few times and said seriously, “It’s alright, Arlo is strong!”
Lance frowned: “But you said he’s a healer.”
Most healers are weak mages and are unlikely to know any attack magic. If a healer encountered an enemy alone, it would be extremely dangerous. At this time, Lance couldn’t help but worry about Arlo’s safety.
Misa could only rack his brains to concoct some reasonable excuses.
“He… is indeed proficient in healing magic, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know other attack magic,” Misa tried to make something up. “You saw it that night; Arlo is strong.”
Lance: “Hmm…”
It was hard to tell how strong Arlo’s magic was from that magic shield that shattered with a single blow.
“His magic shield… that was an accident!” Misa was sweating profusely, swallowing hard, then suddenly had a new idea. “Look! Your sword can break his magic shield!”
Lance was startled: “Yes.”
Misa: “But you hit his head, and he didn’t even get dizzy.”
Lance: “Hmm…”
Not only was he not dizzy, but at that time, apart from the blood on his forehead, Arlo seemed as usual, as if he hadn’t suffered any damage at all. This wasn’t something an ordinary healer could do.
“He’s an expert in defense, a physical powerhouse, strong and sturdy, comparable to the royal capital’s boxing champion,” Misa said solemnly. “Don’t worry; he can knock down a giant with one slap.”
Lance: “…”
Lance seemed to believe him.
Misa finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had once again escaped a calamity by rambling nonsense. However, he still had to coordinate his story with Arlo later to prevent Arlo from showing any slip-ups during their journey.
But the hero apparently had a new question.
He hesitated several times before finally speaking. He just smiled strangely at Misa, then nodded and said, “I understand.”
But Misa was familiar with this expression on Lance’s face.
Usually, when Lance showed this expression, it meant he had thought of something strange.
Misa had lied, so he had to eliminate all of Lance’s doubts. He eagerly asked, “Lance-sama, do you have any more questions?”
Lance: “…No.”
Misa once again put on his amiable smile, even leaning slightly towards Lance, saying earnestly, “It’s okay, I’ll explain it to you.”
Lance: “…”
Lance finally spoke.
“Arlo is… a boxing champion?” Lance frowned. “He looks more like a high priest of the church.”
Misa: “…”
Misa felt complex emotions.
Indeed, Arlo was a divine messenger with golden long hair, gold-rimmed glasses, and a handsome face that could be considered beautiful. He always wore the white robes that church officials liked to wear. He didn’t look like a strong physical fighter at all. Misa certainly didn’t want to make things up, but honestly, Misa had no other choice.
“You’re thinking too stereotypically,” Misa said with difficulty. “Maybe… a high priest could knock out a great demon with one slap.”
Lance: “…”
Misa: “…”
Lance: “…”
That’s impossible.
It’s incredibly stupid.
Misa decided to skip this topic.
The two of them silently walked through the cave, but there was a longer dark passage ahead, and the dwarves’ city was still nowhere in sight. They still had a long way to go.
Misa decided to avoid the previous embarrassment. He continued with his previous question to the hero, “Have you been in the Land of Blessing all these years?”
Lance shook his head and said, “Sometimes.”
Misa was slightly startled, feeling like he had grasped the key to the matter.
Misa: “Sometimes?”
Lance frowned and remained silent.
Misa could only cough, following the lessons from Teacher Alisa’s “One Hundred Lectures on Hero Favorability,” using his technique of playing hard to get, deliberately averting his gaze: “If you don’t want to say…”
Lance: “…Farming.”
Misa nodded.
It seemed the hero had indeed been farming in the Land of Blessing for three years.
Lance added, “Fishing.”
Misa: “Ah?”
Lance: “Hunting.”
Misa: “Uh…”
Lance: “I made some money.”
Misa: “…”
What’s wrong with this hero?!
Is this what a hero should be doing?
Farming, fishing, hunting? Aren’t those the dreams of retired senior citizens?!
Misa gasped.
No, that’s his retirement vacation dream.
Why is he still working overtime when the hero is already living such a good life, woohoo.
Misa felt complex, subtle, and bitter emotions as he asked the hero his biggest question.
Misa: “But the world is still waiting for you to save it; how can you stay in the Land of Blessing for so many years?”
Lance softly replied, “I didn’t know I was a hero.”
Misa: “…”
“The Divine Tower is near the Land of Blessing; you can see it when you look up,” Misa said. “All these years, haven’t you thought of going to take a look?”
Lance shook his head.
Misa gasped.
Misa: “You’ve never been curious?”
Lance continued shaking his head.
Misa didn’t believe it: “How is it possible for someone not to be curious!”
“It’s very barren there,” Lance replied seriously. “No prey, no lakes, almost nothing grows.”
Misa: “…”
He seemed to understand.
In the hero’s eyes, the Divine Tower, the tall white miracle used by the gods to guide heroes, was a purely economically worthless wasteland.
What divine tower and miracle?
It was just a religious gathering place that housed a statue of the goddess and promoted superstition, serving no purpose; of course, he wouldn’t be interested.
Misa painfully covered his face, feeling that the divine realm’s selection system had a problem.
Why would the gods choose someone who didn’t believe in gods to be the hero!
They fell into an awkward silence. Fortunately, the long stone path had reached its end. A huge cave, almost invisible to the top, appeared before them. Not far away was the dwarves’ town. Misa finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, “As long as we walk over…”
Lance continued their previous topic and softly said, “Actually, I plan to go to the Divine Tower in two years.”
Misa was startled: “Ah? Two years later?”
“The area around the Divine Tower is all sand,” Lance pondered. “If nothing is done, the sand may spread.”
Misa: “…The sand spreading?”
No, what is this hero trying to do?
“I plan to go plant some trees,” Lance seriously suggested. “Seriously, your divine realm’s landscaping is really too bad.”
Misa: “…”
Misa was exhausted.
He didn’t want to say anything to the hero and didn’t have the energy to think about what he should do when they met the dwarves.
He had never told the dwarves here about his task of urging the hero forward. The dwarves didn’t recognize this hero, who had retired early, and he was worried that the dwarves would call him Demon Lord, exposing his identity, and even more worried that the dwarves would attack the hero as soon as they saw him.
He was agonizing over how to explain to the dwarves when he suddenly heard a strange sound. Misa turned around and saw two dwarves struggling to pedal a strangely shaped small mine cart, widening their eyes and slowly approaching them with a creaking sound.
This scene was extremely strange. The hero stood motionless, just watching these two almost identical dwarves, while Misa frantically winked at the two dwarves, trying to hint at the special circumstances, urging them not to rashly call out his name in front of the hero.
But the dwarves were bewildered.
They tried to understand the meaning of Misa’s winks, wondering whether they should simply leave by cart or get down and greet the Demon Lord.
Lance broke the dreadful silence.
“Hello,” Lance said. “I am a human hero.”
Misa: “…”
Dwarves: “…”
Is this how you introduce yourself to monsters?
When you need the other party’s help to get deeper into a monster’s territory, you don’t need to introduce yourself like that!
Misa kept winking at the dwarves, urging them not to attack the hero. One of the dwarves seemed to understand his meaning and decided to pretend not to understand the hero’s words. He deliberately raised his voice, acting hard of hearing and shouting in a rough voice, “Who are you?!”
Lance: “I—”
Dwarf: “It’s not important!”
Lance: “…”
His words were interrupted.
This was the first time Misa had seen the hero’s words interrupted, and he found the hero’s forced humiliation inexplicably satisfying.
Dwarf: “What are humans doing here!”
Lance: “I—”
The dwarf loudly interrupted: “It’s not important!”
Lance: “…”
Dwarf: “The children of the earth don’t welcome humans!”
Lance: “But—”
Dwarf: “Go back! Human!”
Lance: “…”
His voice was too loud; from beginning to end, Lance couldn’t even finish a single sentence.
The dwarves had waved at Lance and Misa and then continued pedaling their small mine cart, trying to leave.
Lance looked at the dwarves’ retreating backs and took a deep breath.
“I wanted to ask you some things,” Lance said slowly. “It seems you don’t want new ore.”
