Chapter 44: The Familiar Hero
Misha took a deep breath.
He knew it! This Hero hadn’t changed at all!
He just loved talking nonsense!
Misha frowned, feeling a little displeased, but Lance quickly corrected himself. “I was wrong. You’re not a Forest Princess.”
Misha: “…”
Hmph. I’m never trusting this Hero again.
Lance looked at him with conviction: “You are the Forest Prince.”
Misha: “…”
See!
This Hero isn’t worth trusting!
Dog Hero, is gender even the issue here?!
Heh!
Even with the gender swap, there’s no way I’d be happy about that title!
Misha clearly displayed his displeasure, and Lance finally realized he had said the wrong thing again. His failed flattery hadn’t made Misha happy; instead, it seemed to have backfired, and he had once again lost the goodwill he had worked so hard to regain.
Lance sighed deeply.
It’s so hard. Being a normal Hero is way too hard.
He couldn’t speak freely, couldn’t express his true thoughts, and had to perform many actions that went against his nature. If it weren’t for Misha, he would never do this. But now, for Misha’s sake, he could only endure it and keep up the act.
Now that the chickens were caught, they finally had only one task left at this farm.
Herding pigs.
The task Lance dreaded most.
Before coming here, he thought finding the cow and catching chickens wouldn’t be difficult. For him, the hardest task would be herding pigs. It sounded like a technical job, and he had zero experience in that area. Asking him to herd pigs under these circumstances… he was bound to fail.
Moreover, these poultry and small animals seemed terrified of him. Whenever he got close, they would scatter frantically in unpredictable directions, increasing the difficulty of herding them.
No, this task is doomed to fail.
Even if he could easily defeat an Archdemon, this damned task was destined to be a failure.
Todd lazily led them to the pigpen next to the farm.
Their pigs hadn’t grown up yet; they were just half-grown piglets, leisurely playing in the pen. But the moment they saw Lance, they panicked and scattered in all directions.
Lance: “…”
See? I said this task was impossible.
Todd stood by the pen, watching the terrified piglets run wild, seemingly unbothered. Maintaining his enthusiastic smile, he pointed to the livestock shed on the other side of the house for Lance and Misha. “Just herd the pigs over there, and you’re done.”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “…”
Couldn’t you guys have built that shed inside a fenced pigpen?!
With such a long, unfenced, unrestricted path, and with Lance present, the pigs will definitely run away!
Lance even felt they could start preparing for an update to the farm’s quests.
The next quest after “Herding Pigs” would probably be “Finding Pigs.”
Damn it. He couldn’t fathom why what should be the most ordinary novice quest was so difficult.
Lance thought that this seemed like the perfect time to use Misha’s unique “Forest Princess” ability.
As long as Misha stood at the door of the shed, Lance believed the piglets would obediently walk over. But Lance also knew that Misha… really rejected that title.
Just because of that one sentence from Lance, Misha wasn’t even willing to spare him a glance until now.
No choice. Looks like I have to do it myself.
Lance bravely took a step forward, walked toward the pigpen, and looked at the piglets scrambling in terror, trying to jump over the fence.
It’s just herding pigs, right?
I can definitely succeed!
Lance reached out and grabbed the fence of the pigpen.
“This is for the sake of the world.” He took a deep breath. “Herding pigs is also for the sake of the world!”
Misha: “…”
Todd, still wearing a brilliant smile: “…?”
Herding the pigs took up the vast majority of Lance’s time.
It was just a small pig-herding task, yet he felt as though he had simultaneously experienced the triple agony of finding pigs, catching pigs, and herding pigs. By the time he finally succeeded in getting all the pigs into the shed, the sky was completely dark.
Lance, disheveled and in a foul mood, wished he could end this “Normal Hero” experience immediately and return to his familiar life.
He remained silent, threw the last pig into the pen, then turned to look at the cheerful Todd. He took out the last commission slip and shoved it into Todd’s hand.
“Done,” Lance said briefly. “Reward.”
But Todd inexplicably started clapping.
“Amazing, adventurer,” Todd said. “You’re the fastest pig herder among all the adventurers.”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “…”
“My father will definitely be very satisfied with you.” Todd patted Lance on the shoulder happily. “Come with me to see him.”
Lance: “…”
Lance didn’t want to go at all.
He had seen the reward for this quest; it was just a few measly gold coins. He really didn’t want them. But for a normal Hero, he would naturally be eager to receive these rewards. It wasn’t midnight yet; he was still within his promise of being a normal Hero for a day. No matter what, he had to fulfill his promise.
Lance took a deep breath, trying his best to maintain his rare good temper, and said seriously, “I understand.”
He took back the commission slip, followed Todd back to the farm, and met the farmer waiting at the door.
This time, the farmer looked completely different from before.
He could barely contain his excitement, his gaze toward Lance full of admiration. He could hardly wait for Lance to say he had completed the commission before excitedly exclaiming, “You are the fourth adventurer to successfully complete the three challenges.”
Lance: “?”
Wait, what challenges?
He knew in his heart that this farmer was definitely about to start spouting nonsense. He really wanted to interrupt this person and skip the post-quest drivel, but…
But not today.
He was a normal Hero.
A normal Hero should listen to every word others say.
The Farmer: “But you are the one who completed these tasks the fastest.”
Lance: “…”
Lance finally started to feel something was wrong. He turned his head and looked at Misha behind him in confusion.
Misha didn’t know what was happening either.
Three challenges?
Finding a cow, catching chickens, herding pigs.
These are the three challenges?!
The Farmer: “This is a trial of courage, strength, wisdom, and endurance.”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “…”
Enough already!
Why does everything have to be related to a trial! And besides, why have three challenges turned into a trial of four things?!
“Amazing adventurer,” the farmer said with great agitation. “I have another quest to entrust to you.”
Lance: “N—”
He saw the look in Misha’s eyes.
Misha was looking at him, seemingly waiting for his answer. And he had promised Misha: today, he was a normal Hero.
He could only choke back the impatient words in his throat, force them down, and squeeze out the smile of a normal Hero. He took a few deep breaths, trying hard to regulate his mood. “Go ahead.”
The farmer enthusiastically invited Misha and Lance into the house.
He prepared dinner for the two of them and Todd, but Lance had no appetite at all. He just wanted to finish the farm’s business quickly, say goodbye to this place, and never return.
“To tell you the truth, our farm has encountered a very tricky matter.” The farmer sighed deeply. “We had no other way, so we could only pray to the Goddess of Light.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “…”
Wait, pray to who?
“The Goddess’s oracle told us that an amazing adventurer would pass through Sky City soon.” The farmer looked at Lance with passion. “She said that person is the savior Hero who will solve all my problems.”
Lance: “…”
Great. It’s you again, Gi… what’s-her-name!
So hateful!
“We really waited for you, Lord Hero!” The farmer wiped away tears of emotion. “Please save the farm and banish the evil spirit for us!”
Misha accurately caught the key point in the farmer’s words.
“Evil spirit?” Misha was a little panicked. “This farm… is haunted?!”
The farmer explained the origin of the matter to Lance and Misha.
“There is a terrible wraith in our farm.” He took a deep breath and revealed a look of extreme fear. “It is in the abandoned wooden hut. Recently, for some reason, it suddenly went mad.”
Lance: “Feudal superstition—”
Misha grabbed Lance’s arm in fear and anxiety. “It’s really haunted here.”
Lance: “…”
Lance paused slightly and swallowed the second half of his sentence. “Forget it, pretend I didn’t say anything.”
He listened carefully to the farmer’s description and clarified the story of the so-called farm wraith.
To be precise, there had always been a ghost on this farm.
Starting from the farmer’s great-grandfather, they had tried every way to exorcise this wraith, but they never succeeded. Since the ghost never hurt anyone, by the time of the farmer’s father, they gave up on exorcising it.
After all, the ghost only liked to zone out in the abandoned wooden hut and never interfered with their lives. As long as they didn’t go near the hut, they wouldn’t even see the floating ghost. For them, it wasn’t really a bother.
But at some point, the ghost gradually changed.
It started to intimidate humans who approached the wooden hut and even made moves to harm them. Once, when Todd tried to sneak into the hut, he was attacked by it, but he also saw the situation inside.
“Todd thinks it must be conducting some evil cult ritual,” the farmer said seriously. “It piled up all kinds of strange instruments on the floor and drew various strange magic circles on paper.”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “…”
That’s not right. It’s a ghost, isn’t it? Do ghosts need to perform rituals like that?
The farmer lowered his voice and whispered, “We think it might want to summon an Archdemon.”
Misha: “…”
Wait. He had a bad feeling about this.
The Farmer: “It might be Ashby.”
Misha: “…”
I knew it!
Why is it you again! Ashby!
“We hope you can exorcise it,” the farmer said earnestly. “Stop the Archdemon from appearing.”
Misha took a deep breath.
He looked at Lance. Lance remained motionless. Misha felt complicated, feeling a bit sorry for Ashby.
He felt the Hero might go and trouble Ashby. For Ashby, this was purely an undeserved disaster.
But Lance just nodded lightly, leaned forward slightly in a friendly manner, and said, “Rest assured, we will help you exorcise the evil spirit.”
Misha: “…”
No. A person with such a friendly attitude cannot be the Hero he knows.
“However, I think that evil spirit may not have anything to do with an Archdemon.” Lance frowned slightly. “Summoning rituals require blood, and spirits do not have flesh and blood.”
Misha, suddenly snapping back to reality, nodded repeatedly, indicating the Hero was right.
“There might be some misunderstanding here.” Lance’s attitude was gentle. “Don’t worry, I will find a way to resolve this—”
The clock struck.
Lance paused slightly, subconsciously looking at the clock in the corner of the room.
They had spent too much time herding pigs. This was the chime of midnight, signaling the arrival of a new day, and also the sound of Lance’s salvation.
He took a deep breath. He had never felt that being himself could be so joyful.
“I’ve been thinking, would it be more convenient for ghosts to be mail carriers?” He looked up, and finally, that smile Misha knew all too well appeared on his lips. “After all, they can stick their heads into packages to see if there’s anything inside unsuitable for mailing.”
Misha: “…”
Misha turned his head sharply to look at the clock in the corner.
It’s over.
Midnight has struck. The ‘One-Day Normal Hero Limited Edition’ has ended. That familiar, despicable Hero is back.
Poor farmer. Poor ghost.
The Demon King feels sorry for you!
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