The Porter Has No Interest in the Hero’s Party

“You’ve worked hard, Hero.”

The acrid smoke and the smell of blood had not subsided. The hero, with blood on his face, was enjoying the demon corpses like a throne. The hero’s blade, which he had stuck upside down, was so sharp that the soft flesh of the demons was being sliced through, making the sword appear to be getting shorter.

The hero repeatedly pulled out his sword and stuck it somewhere else, creating valleys of leaking blood without pause. The blood flowing on the ground created a quagmire, and soldiers avoided the red river flowing in a single stream by jumping around like wild animals.

We, who had retrieved our luggage, and the soldiers who had joined the hero, faced each other and exchanged brief greetings with nods. The luxury of exchanging long greetings was not afforded to people who hadn’t yet escaped the lingering effects of killing.

“You’ve worked hard, mister. I was worried I might have asked you to do something too difficult. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“The first place in the porter fitness test isn’t going anywhere. Just give me more tasks.”

The hero responded to my words with a smile.

“Hero! We’re here!”

Mille and Ashuria, who had supported us from the high ground, were walking towards the tent. Mille was chewing on a leaf, and Ashuria had her arms folded with a slightly dissatisfied expression. As soon as Mille saw the hero, she plopped down beside him and said:

“Hero. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. Thanks to your support from afar, Mille.”

Hearing the hero’s single comment, Mille’s face turned as red as the ground, and she stamped her feet. The demon corpses made thud thud thud sounds as they hit her heels. Ashuria looked at the fallen corpses, pursed her lips, then quietly moved behind the hero and said:

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help this time, Hero.”

“No, Ashuria. You protected Mille. Since Mille’s role was important in this operation, your protection of Mille was also very meaningful. You really worked hard too, Ashuria.”

“If you say so, Hero…”

Ashuria looked dissatisfied, but she didn’t seem to dislike the hero acknowledging her role. The captain who had led the garrison was dusting off his armor, which was covered in dirt, and searching through the tents. In the collapsed command tent, Halifa was still hanging from the tent pole, exactly as we had tied her.

“Urgh…”

The captain looked at Halifa silently, then his face turned bright red. With eyes bulging with effort and teeth gritted, he struck hard with his scabbard held vertically.

“Ah!”

A weak scream escaped Halifa’s mouth. But the captain’s beating did not stop despite her pitiful scream.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Sounds like meat being chopped in a butcher shop rang out several times, and Halifa began to tremble with fear, spitting blood from her mouth. She begged, her face swollen grotesquely and filled with tears, trembling like an aspen:

“P-please save me…! T-those people…! They said they would spare me…!”

With her limbs unable to move, her jutting chin forward made for a stupid and disgusting farce. Lena met Halifa’s eyes, shook her head, and said nonchalantly:

“I did spare you, didn’t I?”

“Ah, just now…”

“Did I say I’d protect you from those people?”

“Ah…! Ahhh…!”

Halifa couldn’t say anything. The sins she had committed, blinded by military achievements and rampaging indiscriminately, came back to her like a boomerang. The soldiers and captains with bulging eyes would only give her peace after stripping away everything from her.

“I’ll make you wish for death.”

“Nooo…! Save me…! I-I don’t want to die…! Daemon…! Save me…!”

Halifa was dragged away, calling the name of a male demon who was probably her lover. Lena pulled out a armful of letters from my luggage bag and handed them to the hero, saying:

“Look at this. Information we extracted from her. Some demon, whoever it was, gave her all sorts of information.”

The white letters contrasted with the red floor, seemingly glowing. The hero created a shade in front of his eyes to read the letter content, then nodded with a serious face.

“Traitors…”

Lena asked:

“What should we do, Hero?”

“Traitors… I can’t believe it.”

The hero nodded with a regretful expression. I nodded at the hero’s words and looked at the corpse fallen on the ground. The way it stared at me with bulging eyes gave me goosebumps, and without realizing it, I kicked its head off. The crumbled head flew toward the fence and stuck there like a decoration.

As if that was a starting signal, the hero slid down from the pile of corpses and said:

“First, we need to share this information with the unit and decide our next destination. Depending on the investigation, we might have to eliminate the traitors ourselves.”

Everyone nodded.

In these times when demons threatened the world, humans who willingly became servants of the Demon King could not be tolerated.

If they really were traitors.

It seemed that it would take a long time before the river water contaminated by poison would be purified and grass would grow in this area again. Two villages had been annihilated by poison, and hundreds of people had died caught in the war. This damage, minor in terms of map statistics, had deeply scratched the hearts of the locals, as deep as a thousand-foot cliff.

While we were packing our belongings for the next journey, right next to us, people who had lost their homeland were walking toward other villages with dejected faces, and the captain overseeing this area was stroking his chin with a complicated expression.

The hero was trying not to look at the passing people, and Mille couldn’t stop crying, saying how pitiful the people leaving the village were.

Lena clicked her tongue softly while staring at the procession, her lips twitching, and Ashuria, with her hands free of knuckle dusters, tapped the table and said:

“It’s time to work now. We must not be mired in tragedy.”

The hero nodded at Ashuria’s words and covered his face. He sighed deeply, shook his head, then nodded and smiled at Ashuria.

“…You’re right. Ashuria, you’re right. We have a mission.”

A messenger had run off to inform the higher-ups of the current situation and the information obtained from the demons, and we were thinking of moving to the frontline where the two traitors were to confirm the situation.

Count Meindal and Baron Luke.

I didn’t know who these people were, but Lena, who was originally from the kingdom, seemed to know who these nobles were.

“I know Baron Luke. There were persistent rumors about his gambling addiction. How is he managing to be a commander? He doesn’t seem like the right person for it.”

Ashuria answered Lena’s question:

“Baron Luke himself may be unremarkable, but his ancestors were quite wealthy and excellent knights. I heard that every time he achieved merits on the battlefield, the country would forgive part of his debt.”

“But he couldn’t achieve merits? So he’s communicating with demons.”

“We don’t know the details yet, but that’s probably how it is. Sin always finds gaps and spreads.”

The hero’s face contorted slightly each time he heard the two talking. Even when frowning, his fine-featured face remained elegant. I sat in a chair, resting my chin on my hand, looking at the map.

Fortunately, they were quite close to where we were, and we had to pass through one village on the way to the fortress.

“For now, I’ve told the messenger to tell us to come to the next village, Corda Village, once we receive the order. We plan to wait briefly in Corda Village and then move according to the situation.”

“Should I just go ahead now and kill them?”

“I could also shoot them with my bow!”

Mille and Lena stepped forward enthusiastically. The hero smiled at their zealous attitude toward identifying traitors, but he didn’t nod. The hero said:

“If we kill them independently, it will be difficult to explain the situation later, and it will be awkward for us to control the frontline troops. We need at least an order with the royal seal.”

I nodded at the hero’s words and said:

“The hero is right. If a unit commander suddenly dies, the confusion will be immense. Moreover, the fact that he died while communicating with demons is shocking. Only a commander who can manage morale and an authoritative order can contain that confusion. Besides, nothing is certain yet. Killing a commander based on one letter should always be done cautiously. It could really be a high-level deception.”

Lena pouted like a duck and said:

“My instinct says they are traitors. The motive is perfect. A human struggling with gambling debts is tempted by demons and decides to hand over his entire army and defect.”

“That happens too.”

I nodded and agreed with Lena. Then, feeling thirsty, I took out a water bottle and had a drink. Following the sound of swallowing, I heard the hero speaking to Lena:

“They say even a stone bridge should be tested before crossing. Both Baron Luke and Count Meindal are people who have sworn loyalty to fight for the country. I, I want to wait a bit more. When clear evidence emerges, the higher-ups will issue an order.”

The hero’s face as he said this was quite gloomy, so even Lena couldn’t bring herself to say she would act on her own. She awkwardly nodded and averted her gaze again, and Mille, seeing the hero’s depression, patted him on the back.

The hero said to Mille:

“Thank you, Mille.”

Soldiers were passing in front of us, our destination decided. They had leaves attached to their armor and green paint on their spears, making it look as if the forest was moving. Mille, finding the soldiers’ appearance curious, said:

“They look just like elven soldiers fighting in the forest.”

The hero nodded at those words and said:

“Among the information we brought, there was information that reinforcements from the demon side were coming. They said they would set up a camp at the path where the reinforcements are coming and ambush them in advance. Considering the cycle of letter arrivals and the distances between demon camps, they say they’ll come within a few days.”

“Since the camp has been destroyed, they’ll be caught helplessly.”

The hero nodded.

The news that demons would die at any time was as pleasant as a spring breeze.