Ex-Hero, Now Freeloader - Chapter 2 – Out to Exterminate Orcs, Encounter with a Silver-Haired Beauty

That day was my first solo mission ever.

Usually at least one of the Saviors would come along like a chaperone.

Said mission was…to destroy a demon tribe that deals with illegal slaves.

『I suppose I am to be used to slash such filth once again…』

「You’re a sword. You’re just getting covered in blood, stop complaining.」

Demon Realm, the forest.

The miasma is thick here, and the vegetation is otherworldly when compared to the human world, albeit we have all sorts of countries.

Strange sights stretched out before me. Trees with tentacle-like branches, flowers with teeth that seem to be whistling, bubbling mud as if it were boiling, and so on.

The stem of a flower with petals and a mouth-like thing in the center suddenly shoots out and bit the corpse that was lying nearby. It crunches and chews it vigorously.

『That’s holy sword discrimination! Do you think swords don’t like being clean?!』

「…If you didn’t want to get dirty, then you should’ve asked me to leave you in the royal palace’s treasure vault.」

Littered around me were the corpses of demons.

I say demons, but they can vary in size and appearance from human to dragons as big as a mountain, but this time, it is the pig-faced Orcs.

『I am a holy sword, you know? I am destined to be by the side of the Hero.』

「Then why don’t you tell me what to do?」

En route to the identified enemy stronghold, I encountered a group of enemies that seemed to be a part of their team.

I asked them to surrender, but they didn’t comply, so it turned into a scuffle.

The result? They were wiped out.

『Polish me until I’m all clean later and speak to me softly.』

「…I’ll take proper care of you. You’re just a sword but you’re still my partner.」

『Hmph, that’s fine… Wait, is it? Something about the way you phrased that just didn’t sit right with me.』

All Six Saviors have a crest somewhere on their bodies.

It appears that age doesn’t matter, since it can appear on a hardened military soldier, it’s possible that it can appear even on a newborn baby.

I say possible because there hasn’t been an actual case of a baby having a crest.

As of now, I am the youngest recorded case of the Hero crest appearing on a person, at five years old.

While doing my best not to step on the corpses, I head towards the enemy base.

「You’re pretty full of yourself, huh?」

『I mean, I do have the power of all previous Heroes throughout history dwelling within me. Only a Hero may wield me. So long as I am used, the Hero is unbeatable! …Almost. It’s only natural to expect humans to be grateful for me.』

「Hmm… Well, guess you are a good sword.」

While cutting the tree branches that occasionally attack me, I proceed forward until I reach a clearing.

There’s the target cave.

According to the intel from the co-conspirator that the War God captured, this should be their base.

「Power of all past Heroes huh… That’s…what? Fifteen of them? But even so, you…」

I have no complaints about the holy sword being a sword. As long as I can swing it without it breaking.

And the power of the successive generation of Heroes isn’t unknown. So long as a Hero wields it, the mana and magic dwelling within can be freely used.

But…I can do just fine without it, honestly.

『…You see, Rain, that’s because you’re just too strong. Forget about the strongest in history… If every previous Hero grouped up together to fight you, they would still lose.』

「That’s ‘cause none of the past fifteen Heroes were ever trained by the other Saviors for ten years since they were five, right?」

Before me, the Six Saviors were usually on equal footing.

But this time, I was chosen at the young age of five, so after this and that, it was decided that the other five, who had already attained their abilities, would raise me.

While I wouldn’t say that my life in the orphanage was a happy one, it wasn’t as bad as the path to becoming a Hero that was severe enough for me to hate it.

『That’s true but… wait, you weren’t just thinking about how much you didn’t need me, right? Could you…could you stop thinking such things?』

The holy sword sounded like she was sobbing slightly.

「I’m not thinking that at all.」

『Really? If you really do throw me away, I’ll turn into a cursed sword, you know?』

While dealing with the slightly threatening sounding holy sword, I proceed without being particularly vigilant.

I cut down the lookouts who obviously didn’t surrender and invaded the cave.

The inside of the cave turned into an uproar as a wave of Orcs rushed towards me.

『I won’t cut down those that surrender and throw away their weapons!』

The holy sword shouts that instead of me.

The holy sword’s voice echoes within the cave, but none of them complied.

Guess I have no choice. I cut down those who approached me and pierced the sorcerers with magic arrows made of wind.

「Man… It would’ve been better if there were someone here who understood what I was saying a little.」

『I’m sure they think you’re underestimating them since you look like a weak little pretty boy.』

There are demons who can measure an individual’s mana levels to an extent, but the Orcs seem slow in that aspect.

I defeat all the Orcs who attacked me, then I proceeded deeper into the cave, following the signal of the strongest being in the cave.

The Swordmaster taught me how to sense ki.

I can’t sense it if it’s too far away, but I can within a cave.

This is why I was able to simply slash the Orcs who were wise enough to ambush me from hiding spots or hide in blind spots.

「…」

『We’re almost there.』

「I know.」

I guess I’m used to it…or rather I had to get used to it…

Even though they are demons who hurt people, even though they refused to surrender and still attacked, I still don’t like seeing their corpses.

It’s not about right or wrong.

I just don’t like the feeling of taking a life.

Taking a nap on grassland with a pleasant breeze, eating a hot meal after working up an appetite after a workout, falling asleep while feeling the nice and warm sensation of a hot bath.

Those are the things I love.

「There are two strong ones…」

One of them is probably the leader here.

Several times stronger than the Orcs that I have defeated so far.

The other one is…considerably strong.

Possibly as strong as one of the Six Saviors.

…I was told that the illegal slave trade was done by a group of intelligent Orcs…

But if there’s someone as strong as the Six Saviors involved, there may be a larger organization hiding behind them.

In such a case, it would be better to capture them alive, but that’s so much harder to do than just killing them.

Well, at least I don’t have to kill them all, so that’s good.

That’s just what I feel.

I step into the space that I thought was the leader’s room and…tilted my head.

「…So, you were truly alone in all this? I understand.」

Having said that, the considerably strong one decapitated the Orc leader with a sword.

「A warrior from the human side? Rest assured. I am only here to protect the illegal slaves from the Demon Realm.」

She says without turning to me.

It seems she noticed me.

The considerably strong one was a woman.

A mythically beautiful woman with long silver hair and blue eyes.

There aren’t many with mana levels as strong as this.

I can only think of the Sage or Saint.

In terms of demons that humans have encountered, she seems to be on the level of the Big Four, a general, or one of the Twelve.

She doesn’t seem to be hostile for now.

Hmm… What should I do?