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The two of them were way too tolerant. It was not like they were going to meet a king, so as far as I was concerned the best would be to just go back home. But maybe that was just my lack of experience with society? That was something I really needed to learn. We were silent as we followed the man up the stairs to the third floor. As I passed along other rooms, I was unable to sense anyone inside them, but maybe they simply had been reserved by someone.

“It’s here, get in.”

The room was located at the end of the corridor of the third floor, and was larger than the other rooms, built with a double door. The doors were adorned with a multitude of flowers, a warm welcome from the inn for the guests.

We followed behind the soldier who entered the room and we saw the man who had been passing by the window and his companion, both leisurely walking around like they owned the place. The door was closed behind us with a dry sound, the soldier standing guard in front of it with an imposing manner. I started getting more alarmed, thinking they might be planning to lock us up. They urged us to sit down on the luxurious couches there, but in separate places.

“Welcome. You really caught my eye when I looked out the window earlier, so I figured I’d invite you to have tea at least.”

“I see…”

The hero…or at least the person claiming to be one, said that as he sat just beside me without asking. He sat down with such force that he sent my body flying up a bit. His looks might be good, but his manners were quite coarse. Some of his other followers sat down with Karin and Ciel. The looks they directed at the girls told me they were up to no good, but I was still hoping nothing weird would happen.

“You probably already know this, but let me introduce myself. I’m Wyatt, the man with the assured future of being the hero who saves the world.”

Saying so, he brushed his blonde hair up with one hand. For obvious reasons I could not voice my true thoughts, that I had not asked for his name and that I was not interested in it, so I just forced a smile in reply. I looked at the other two and saw that they were feeling hesitant as well. Being able to turn the perception those girls had from the best impression to the worst in such a short time frame was an accomplishment in its own right, at least I could give them that.

Seeing the glint of scorn dwelling in our halfhearted gazes, Wyatt thought we had mistaken something so he took one of the many wine bottles and carelessly poured glasses in front of us. Those bottles of wine contained some of the finest wine in the region, but he poured it so carelessly the whole table was covered and stained with it. That was the reason why I thought the room smelled a bit like alcohol when we entered.

“Drink if you want. I’m sure you’ve never tasted wine like this.”

“Th-thanks…”

Their arrogant attitude was perfect to rub anyone the wrong way. I brought one of the cups to my lips, almost out of pity, and took a deep breath. That helped me calm down a bit from my irritated state. I still had not confirmed if Wyatt was a fake or the true thing, and it was a bit too soon to get mad. I am sure that Karin and Ciel also had questions for them, so it was best if I contained myself. In the middle of that turmoil inside my thoughts, Karin broke the silence with the first question.

“Err…you must be strong to be a hero, right? I assume you started off as adventurers, but what rank are you at the moment?”

Karin frowned a bit as she valiantly asked the man sitting beside her, who had been moving his hand along her shoulder in an over-familiar manner for a while. She was really doing her best.

“We prefer to not be contained in the worthless boundaries of a rank. We don’t have a need to live as adventurers.”

“Then what do you normally do for a living? I know the cost to stay in this inn is really expensive…”

“When they learned who we were, they let us stay for free. And it’s not just in this town, there’s a lot of people out there who want to support a hero. So we live thanks to their generosity. I really appreciate people who do their part to save the world.”

“…”

In other words, they simply never worked. Wyatt seemed to notice we had started to lose interest, so he acted all dramatic as he said that, as if he had overcome many difficulties to get here. Ciel was the next one to question him.

“Then as a hero, you also must use magic, right? Which element are you the most proficient with? Maybe I can learn a few things from you.”

“For someone like me, using any element is a piece of cake. Not a single one is difficult for me.”

“That’s amazing! But I should’ve expected that! Though as far as I knew there was only one person who could use all elements!”

“It’s nothing special really! Since I’m a hero, I should be able to do that much.”

The person Ciel mentioned was probably me. Though Wyatt’s words did not have much of an effect on her, her words sounded enthusiastic, but her eyes were completely frozen. Those were the eyes of a hunter stalking its prey.

“Then you also don’t need to chant?”

“Isn’t that obvious? It’s not such a big accomplishment.”

“I guess. The receptionist at the guild can do that too after all. The same goes for the girl you’re sitting with.”

His eyes opened wide and he increased his distance with me a bit. That was really careless, if he acted like that it was more than obvious that he was just faking everything.

“I-I see…that’s pretty amazing. You’re a magician too then?”

“…It’s not really my specialty. I’m more of a weapons person.”

“She’s our master! She looks pretty cute, but she’s really strong!”

It sounds a bit weird when I think about it, but as far as appearances went, I was the weakest of our group. When they heard that they called me their master, Wyatt and his group thought she was just joking.

“Hahaha… You really fooled us. There’s no way a cute little girl like her could be a magician.”

“Hey Wyatt. How long are you going to continue this boring conversation? We got them all the way here so let’s just have fun already.”

“You’re right, let’s do that.”

Wyatt extended his hand and firmly held my body against his. Karin and Ciel were in a similar situation, but neither of them raised their voices in protest. It was obvious why they had been measuring their strength throughout the conversation earlier and they were weak. Even Karin alone would have been able to best all of them, so there was no need to lose our temper.

“Since you accepted our invitation, you should’ve known it would lead to this. Have some fun with us now.”

His hand lifted my chin up as he forcefully brought his repulsive face closer to mine in an attempt to press his lips on mine, but before that happened I spoke to him again.

“…Can I ask just one thing before that? Since you’re a hero, wouldn’t it be better if you head into the Haunted Lands already? Instead of losing time playing around here.”

“Why would I ever do something so dangerous? I’m the hero, and a hero is a symbol of hope. If I die, many people would fall into despair. So I’ll stay in a safe place for their sake as well.”

That was enough to convince me. They were just charlatans pretending to be heroes. It was easy to believe that they had continuously gotten lodging and food for free like this in many other cities, before, and made countless girls cry. Even if they were weak but earnestly wanted to save the world, then I would have let them go, but I had to punish them since they were nothing but imposters.

“I see, I understand now. You…you all are just a scummy bunch. Karin, Ciel, let’s put an end to them.”

“Understood!”

“Of course.”

“Hey what was that! Don’t start getting weir- Ow ouch ouch! Let-let me go! Dammit! Let me go!”

The one who had tried touching Karin, the same soldier that brought us here, got his elbow twisted by her and was restrained instantly. The guy who had tried getting closer to Ciel attempted to run away, but he quickly fell to the ground without a word. He fell and rolled on the floor after fainting in agony, having his crotch kicked with full force.

“Wha-?! Are you serious! You want to attack a hero like me!”

“What hero? You’re just a charlatan. And you were just caught in an attempt to r̲a̲pe̲ three girls, just admit it already.”

“Don’t give me that crap!”

I untangled myself from the arm Wyatt had put around me and touched my index finger to his cheek, a second later he fell down unconscious with white eyes. That was a skill I had invented myself to restrain other people, it was a skill that only touched one’s brain. The fake hero’s party had been defeated in an instant, the people left were pale and trembling noticing the actual difference in strength between them and us. Their minds were probably going crazy with thoughts of what would happen to them in the future.

Their deeds were definitely not limited to this city, but maybe all of Bordaule even. Since they spoke of their names so pridefully, many more of their crimes would turn up with a little research. I had no idea what would happen to them after what would be a long and arduous trial, but I knew it was not a bright future. Karin left to call for guards, while the owners of the inn peeked into the room as we explained what happened. At the same time, I also mumbled something.

“Being a hero means a life of only misfortune after misfortune… those who actually follow that path should be praised for it.”

“Did you say something, Lapis?”

“Oh nothing. Instead, let’s go get something sweet once we’re done dealing with these people.”

“That sounds good. I need a change of mood.”

I wished that would be the end of self-proclaimed heroes, or at least for me. I did not want to see one again. But the world seemed to have it against me and it was not long until I heard of another hero.