Chapter 82: The Hateful Hero
Misha looked at the Hero, who seemed sincerely lost in his memories. He thought it over and over but ultimately decided not to voice the words at the tip of his tongue.
A Hero whom no one trusted was truly a pitiful sight; he might as well pretend he knew nothing.
And so, Misha adjusted his posture once more, listening intently to what Lance had to say next. This time, however, he turned his body fully toward the Hero, even leaning in slightly to ensure he wouldn’t miss a single word.
For once, Lance didnât guess what Misha was thinking.
He simply recounted his past as it was. It wasn’t some gripping, epic tale; most of what had happened was not much different from this world.
The only difference was that he hadn’t met Misha.
There had been no one to tirelessly try and mold him into a proper Hero. No one who, upon realizing his blasphemy and “disqualification,” would still try to suppress the news to protect him from the Divine Realm’s punishment.
“It was probably because I was too out of line,” Lance said seriously. “I did too many strange things, so that Divine Envoy… couldn’t really tolerate me.”
Misha: “…”
As a “Divine Envoy” himselfâalbeit a fake oneâMisha felt a deep wave of sympathy and understanding for that unknown predecessor.
He couldn’t tolerate this annoying Hero either.
The man was insufferable, constantly looking for ways to tease him. One day, once all of this was over, Misha was going to punch this Hero square in the face. Twice.
“The Divine Envoy reported my ‘disqualification’ to the Divine Realm,” Lance said softly. “They seemed to have decided that I was an extremely dangerous defective product.”
Misha: “…”
Misha agreed with the first half of that description.
He didnât think the Hero was a “defective product”âsomeone this powerful could never be called a scrapâbut the words “extremely dangerous” were spot on.
This was a man who destroyed Interdimensional Gates and slew gods on a whim. With such terrifying power paired with his unpredictable behavior, Misha felt that “extremely dangerous” was an understatement.
“So, they decided to punish me.” Lance thought for a moment before adding, “Actually, what I did back then wasn’t nearly as outrageous as what Iâve done in this world.”
Misha asked, “You didn’t destroy the Interdimensional Gates of other worlds?”
Lance shook his head.
Back then, he was a newcomer to the Isekai life, a rookie Hero. How could he have known such things even existed?
Misha thought for a moment and asked again, “Then… did you have a very harmonious relationship with the monsters?”
Lance: “…”
Lance remained silent and shook his head again.
The lies of the Divine Realm had been too convincing, and the Demon King of that world had been an excellent actor. The monsters “looked” truly hateful. At least in the beginning, he had believed it.
Misha: “…Then you didn’t interrupt the Goddess when she spoke?”
Lance: “The first time I heard her, I was quite polite.”
Misha: “The first time?”
Lance: “But I really didn’t want to hear that nonsense a second time.”
Misha: “…”
Wait. Misha suddenly caught the key point.
He had assumed Lance was “out of line” because, just like in this world, he had spent all his time farming in the village, thinking only of making money, refusing to go to the Holy Tower for years, and being disrespectful to the Goddess. He thought the Hero had finally angered the Divine Envoy and the locals until they reported him.
But based on what Lance was saying now… was he actually quite proactive back then?
Misha posed his final question: “Then… you didn’t avoid the Holy Tower for three years?”
Lance: “…No.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “To be honest, I went on the second day.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “…”
A surge of anger rose in Mishaâs chest.
Dammit! Dammit all!
He didn’t want to believe or help this Hero anymore!
How could this stinky jerk be so annoying?!
Misha took several deep breaths, nearly tempted to fly straight down from the Tree of Life and leave this irritating Hero here alone.
But Lance responded quickly.
“I didn’t know anything back then,” Lance said earnestly. “I thought it was just a simple adventure in an Isekai.”
Misha: “…Isekai?”
Lance: “…”
Misha frowned.
Even the previous world was an “Isekai” to him?
Just how many worlds… had this Hero traveled through?
Misha felt like he was grasping the core of the matter. He knit his brows, suspecting the Hero was still hiding something, but before he could press further, Lance provided an answer.
“There are only three where I stayed for a long time,” Lance said, eager to explain everything. “This one, the one before it, and…”
He paused slightly, hesitating for a moment as if unsure whether he should reveal this last part.
Misha: “And?”
Lance: “…”
In the end, he made up his mind.
“And the very first one,” Lance said softly. “A world without gods.”
Misha: “…”
If that were the case, all of Lance’s bizarre behavior finally made sense.
If he came from a world without gods, it was only natural that he lacked faith in them. However, Misha had always assumed Heroes were native-born souls of their respective worlds. If the Hero had experienced a world without gods first, then… why did he end up in these subsequent worlds?
“After I got the Interdimensional Stone, I traveled to many places,” Lance whispered. “But those were brief stays, mostly to evade the Divine Realm’s pursuit.”
Misha: “…Pursuit?”
“I had to make them believe I was dead.” Lance arched an eyebrow slightly. “Looking back, it was a very successful move.”
Misha: “…”
Misha finally realized that the Hero was indeed acting strange today.
It was as if because Misha had shown him that tiny glimmer of trust, Lance couldn’t wait to reciprocate. He was almost desperate to tell Misha everything about his past.
“When I first arrived in this world, it had just produced its own ‘Hero,'” Lance attempted to explain himself. “For me, it was the perfect cover.”
Misha couldn’t help but ask, “Then the original Heroâ”
Lance shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Misha: “…”
Misha felt like… he was beginning to understand.
The original Hero of this world wasn’t Lance. Along that Hero’s journey, they must have encountered countless dangers. In the eyes of the gods, this was likely just natural “wear and tear” for a Hero.
When that Hero passed away for whatever reason, Lance had somehow become the new Hero, forced once again onto the path of adventure.
“I saw the divine signs guiding me to the Holy Tower,” Lance said. “I just thought at the time that this was guidance every ‘Hero’ received.”
Misha: “…”
What a flimsy excuse.
Lance added sheepishly, “I didn’t expect to become the new Hero again.”
Misha: “…”
Misha didn’t believe a word of it.
Lance cleared his throat softly. “After all, there were other Heroes around, so I didn’t feel the need toâ”
Misha: “Really?”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “I don’t like being lied to.”
Lance: “…”
Misha: “Youâ”
Lance: “Your gods are really annoying. I didn’t want to deal with them.”
Misha: “…”
Misha wanted to fire this Hero.
He had waited in the Demon King’s Castle for three whole years… and this was the reason?
And the Hero was far too bold!
He had committed such a massive crime, yet when he was chosen as the new Hero of this world, he didn’t run. Instead, he stayed here openly and built his business for three years without a single care in the world.
Misha: “…Weren’t you afraid of being discovered?”
Lance: “Ah… but when I first saw the divine signs, my trade deal in the Royal Capital was almost finalized.”
Misha: “…”
As expected, it was all for the money.
Misha struggled to calm his heart. “You even went to the Royal Capital?”
Lance: “Mm. I bought a few houses there.”
Misha: “Bought… what??”
Misha was stunned.
He never expected such an answer. He knew the Hero loved making money, but he never imagined that the man had this kind of hobby.
“It’s just money,” Lance cleared his throat. “Converting it into real estate gives a great sense of achievement.”
Misha: “…?”
Lance looked a bit guilty and was eager to move to the next topic. “I know how your Divine Realm system works. Once the business in the Royal Capital was settled, I could only move within the Blessing Land.”
Misha: “…Right.”
Lance: “That place was too poor.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “I was bored.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “I just did some farming on the side.”
Misha: “…On the side?”
“Anyway, as long as I didn’t go to the Holy Tower, the Divine Envoy would remain in slumber.” Lance looked up at the sky guiltily. “So, I figured staying in the Blessing Land to get some work done wasn’t a bad thing.”
Misha: “…”
He realized that everything was finally clicking together.
When he first met the farming Hero in the Blessing Land, he had stood at the edge of the fields and shouted the Hero’s name.
Lance had been startled, looking terrified and uneasy. At the time, he probably thought the Divine Realm had finally found him to settle the score, and he was debating whether to flee instantly.
But he had stayed. After all, Misha hadn’t acted suspicious at all. Misha had treated him as the genuine Hero and worked tirelessly to persuade him to go to the Holy Tower to fulfill his mission.
“The ‘divine miracles’ in the Blessing Land… I knew they were your doing from the start.” Lance’s voice grew quieter. “To be honest, those glowing words floating in the air… that magic wasn’t very sophisticated.”
Misha: “…”
Misha suddenly remembered those years when he led his monsters to do unpaid labor in the Blessing Land.
The Hero really had done it on purpose!
He had worked so hard to build roads for the Blessing Land, dig irrigation canals, and rebuild the entire town… and the Hero had let him do it all intentionally!
Misha glared at Lance, while Lance continued to look sheepishly at the dark night sky.
Misha recalled that after he finished renovating the town, he went to find the Hero again. But Lance had locked himself inside his house, claiming he had “private business” to attend to.
Private business my foot! Misha realized the bastard probably felt the town was finished and it was time to find an opportunity to escape this world through an Interdimensional Gate.
How hateful!
How could there be such a loathsome Hero!
“We weren’t very close yet,” Lance said. “Free labor is free labor. I wasn’t going to turn it down.”
Misha: “I’m going to strangle you right now!”
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