I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [468]

After letting the little girl touch Himmel's statue, Aesc didn't set her down right away. Instead, she asked another question.

"Say… do you know why there are so many statues of Himmel across the continent?"

"Umm…"

The little girl looked puzzled. Aesc didn't rush her, simply waiting patiently as she thought it through.

"Because… the Hero wanted to be famous?"

"Mm… not a bad guess."

Aesc's eyes flicked thoughtfully before she spoke. "But for Himmel, fame wasn't all that important. The reason he left so many statues behind… was because he was afraid of being forgotten."

"Why would anyone forget him? He's the Hero who defeated the Demon King!"

"In the ever-turning wheel of history, nothing stays in people's memories forever. Not even Himmel, who achieved the impossible where generations of heroes had failed."

Aesc's lips curved into a gentle smile. "But still… even if he is forgotten, that probably won't happen for a very, very long time."

"How long is very long?"

"Hmm… maybe hundreds or even thousands of times longer than the longest time you can imagine."

"That long, huh…"

The little girl tilted her head. "Then… why doesn't the Hero want to be forgotten?"

"Well… maybe it's because he didn't want a certain girl to feel lonely."

Aesc smiled. "He left statues of himself in every corner of this world, so that no matter where that emotionally dense elf girl wandered, she'd always be able to see him—so it would feel like… he never really left her side."

Naturally, that made the little girl frown in frustration.

"That's too hard to understand…"

"For someone your age, yeah… it probably is."

"So… if I grow up, I'll be able to understand it?"

"Maybe… but I'd prefer if you never did."

"Why?"

The girl blinked up at her, confused.

Aesc smiled warmly, her deep eyes calm like a lake on a summer night.

"Because growing up is painful. People usually grow only when they're forced to—when the hardships they face leave them no other choice."

"Humans can't truly share each other's feelings. To really understand someone else, you'd have to go through the same pain they did… but that's not something anyone should have to endure. That's why I hope the day you understand never comes."

It was, of course, far too early for the little girl to grasp words like these.

Aesc didn't expect her to. It was more of a monologue, really.

"Sorry for talking about such complicated stuff."

Shaking off the moment, Aesc set the girl down and gave her a smile overflowing with warmth.

Compared to people her own age—or older—Aesc had always been better at talking to innocent, curious children.

"To make up for that, I'll tell you a story. Are you interested in tales about the Hero's battle with the Demon King? Or maybe you'd rather hear about the silly little things that happened during a certain magician's travels?"

…

Aesc walked alone through the streets.

Beneath her feet was a grid of square stones. With her head lowered, she carefully placed her feet to avoid the lines, making sure each step landed squarely inside a tile.

As if stepping on the lines would get her killed or something.

"Hm?"

She raised a brow. Up ahead was a crowd. It looked lively—something must've happened.

"So many people… what are they all gathering for?"

She remembered an amusing post she once read.

If you're American, your first instinct when you see a crowd is to stay far, far away.

If you're Chinese, your first instinct is to go see what's going on.

Maybe it was her strong abilities giving her confidence—or maybe just the inherited nosiness of her culture—but Aesc folded her hands behind her back and strolled leisurely toward the commotion.

At the center of the crowd, Stark stood holding his axe, catching his breath. In front of him lay a subdued bull, collapsed on the ground.

"Young man, you've done us a great favor. I can't believe you actually managed to take down that rampaging bull."

A man stepped forward to thank Stark, and more and more people began to gather around him.

"Stark's as popular as ever, huh…"

Aesc murmured from the outskirts of the crowd.

A little boy kept thanking Stark—he must've been right in the bull's path earlier. Stark had likely saved his life.

A dwarf, clearly a blacksmith, chatted with Stark enthusiastically and even offered to maintain his axe for free.

An elderly woman said Stark reminded her of her son who'd been away traveling for years and hadn't returned. She gave him a basket full of food—things her son used to love.

Under their warm send-off, Stark waved goodbye with one hand while holding the food basket in the other. As he turned into an alley, he found Aesc waiting, looking like she'd been there a while.

"Aesc? You're here too?"

"Just happened to pass by. Saw a crowd and got curious."

Aesc crossed her arms and peeked into the basket in Stark's arms. "That granny gave you a lot of treats."

"They're all really kind… just a little too enthusiastic for me to handle sometimes."

Stark smiled wryly and then asked, "Do you want some?"

"I don't mind, but… are you sure it's okay?"

Aesc looked up at him and tilted her head. "Aren't these gifts for you?"

"I mean, I'd actually prefer a steak over sweets…"

He looked troubled. "But it was a heartfelt gesture. It'd feel wrong to turn it down."

"Yeah… I get that. It's hard to say no to kindness."

Aesc nodded in agreement. She was the same way—never good at refusing people.

Her friends often told her, "You need to learn how to say no. Being too nice is exhausting."

"Well then, I won't hold back."

Aesc glanced casually into the basket, picked up a treat, and took a small bite, her cheeks puffing like a hamster as she chewed.

"Mm… it's really sweet. Tastes great. That granny's got good hands. Her son actually liked sweets this sugary? That's rare for boys… usually, it's girls who love sweets, right?"

She closed her eyes and savored it, then said, "You should bring these back for Fern. I bet she'd love them."

"Yeah, I think so too."

Aesc and Stark walked side-by-side down the alley. It wasn't too narrow.

They rounded the back of a tavern, where a woman wearing an apron and a burly man were hauling barrels of ale.

The woman noticed them and called out.

"Hey, young man! Judging by the axe on your back, you must be a warrior, right? Can you give us a hand? I'll pay you."

It gave Aesc the distinct feeling of triggering an NPC side quest in an RPG.

So maybe Stark was the real protagonist after all? First he saved a kid from a rampaging bull and gained the locals' admiration, and now he was running into people needing help again.

The task was to help move barrels of ale to a wagon on the street. Stark agreed without hesitation.

But carrying barrels and holding a basket wasn't exactly practical.

"Could you drop these off at the inn for me? Give them to Fern?"

He handed the basket to Aesc.

"Sure, I guess."

Aesc took it, then joked, "But don't blame me if I eat them all before they reach her."

Stark just smiled.

"Well, if that happens… it can't be helped."

After parting with Stark, Aesc returned to the inn first and gave the remaining treats to Fern.

But instead of staying to rest, she went back out for another stroll around town.

Out of boredom, she picked up a monster subjugation request just outside the city—but it didn't take long.

Alongside the reward, she even got an unexpected bonus.

"The fangs from that frost wolf… not high-tier material, but they should fetch a decent price."

Aesc had slain a monster called a Frost Wolf and taken its fangs. Though not valuable to her, they were still worth something.

She figured she'd find a place to sell them.

And then, as if it were perfectly scripted—

"Fancy seeing you here, Frieren."

Inside a shop selling magical items, Aesc bumped straight into Frieren.

"Since we're in a place like this, I came to shop. I mean, it's not like I came here to use the restroom."

"…Fair. Dumb question, I guess."

Frieren held a paper bag in both arms, looking extremely pleased—like she'd just landed a rare treasure.

But then—

"What is that thing you bought?"

Aesc stared at the bag in Frieren's arms. "I can feel a seriously wicked aura coming from that."

And the moment she brought it up, Frieren beamed smugly, like she'd been waiting for this exact question to show off.

She pulled the item from the bag.

"You won't believe it, Aesc. I didn't think I'd find such a rare monster material in a place this small."

What Frieren held was a massive dragon horn, radiating a faint black mist.

"…That's a Dark Dragon's horn, isn't it?"

Aesc's eyes widened slightly. She rubbed her chin and muttered, "No wonder it feels so evil."

"Heheheh! Major score this time."

Frieren raised her chin proudly, clearly thrilled by Aesc's astonished reaction.

"It is a rare material, sure… but what are you planning to do with it?"

Aesc narrowed her eyes at her. "That's a top-tier monster part. You don't know how to use it, do you?"

That hit Frieren right where it hurt—because, in truth, she had no idea what to do with it.

Ordinary monster materials could be made into potions or used for magical research. But the Dark Dragon's horn was too powerful to handle. Most couldn't make use of it, so it was more of a collectible due to its rarity.

"…Maybe I'll keep it as a collectible?"

"You sure? That thing's leaking a suspiciously malevolent aura. Stark aside, you really think Fern's going to let you keep it?"

"..."

Frieren looked like she was on the verge of tears.

The Dark Dragon's horn was incredibly rare. Including the one in her hands, she'd only seen two in the past century. The other had been found in the Demon King's castle—after defeating him, Frieren entrusted the horn to Himmel for safekeeping.

Fifty years after the Demon King's defeat, when Frieren visited Himmel again, he actually complained about it.

He said the horn had been leaking sinister black mist from the cabinet the whole time.

She remembered Himmel asking her if the black mist was harmful, if it might be dangerous to people. Frieren's response?

"I don't know."

And Himmel had been left completely speechless.

"If I weren't the Hero who defeated the Demon King," he once told Aesc, "anyone seeing that black mist pouring out of my cabinet would've assumed I was practicing some dark magic."

That's what he'd said when Aesc visited his home for a spell study. Heiter and Eisen had been there too.

"I think that's just prejudice," Aesc had laughed. "Who says a hero can't turn evil and do dark magic after defeating the Demon King? A twist like that sounds like the perfect plot hook."

"You're already brainstorming a new story, huh?"

Himmel smiled gently, clearly intrigued. "Let me read it when you're done. Now that the Demon King's gone, I've got a lot of free time."

"You might want to reconsider."

Heiter had cut in with a grin. "What if that story gives you ideas and you decide to actually become the Demon King? Haha!"

"You're asking for it, Heiter. If I did become a Demon King, the first thing I'd do is destroy all the alcohol in the world and ban drinking forever!"

"Gah! What a truly evil Demon King! As Hero Heiter, I'll defeat you right now!"

And just like that, the room had filled with laughter.