Is this Hero for Real?

Chapter 36

[Act 11] The Prince

Back on Earth, Id been a model student who was too busy studying to know how many kids the President had, let alone their names

Princes and Princesses

They are like idols representing the kingdom in a fantasy world where networking doesnt go smoothly.

Their looks, age, personality, hobbies, talents

Everyone knew everything, thanks to it all getting advertised nation-wide.

That even included demons.

Prince Alsus is the third-strongest knight in the Swordmastar Knight Kingdomhes a swordsmanship prodigy. He is a second generation monster, resembling the queen in her younger days when she was called the King of Knights.

However, the demons way of seeing it was completely opposite from the humans.

Thats right. It was only natural that humanitys hero was the demons monster.

So basically, hes a human that has nothing to do with me.

He was like a star up in the heavens.

Far, far away from someone like me, who was just some student A on my home planet of Earth.

As I said that, the demon put on an extremely displeased expression.

Nothing to do with you?! Did you not listen to what I was saying? The prince said he was looking for you.

But we cant even talk with each other.

Why are you worrying about that? Thats something the Prince should take care of.

Take care of? Theres magic that helps with translations?

Magic isnt an all-powerful tool like you imagine it would be. If there was a language blessing like the scholars who make a living off of their brains wh-whats your problem?

You should have told me if there was a blessing as neat as that!

Hmph! Even if you did know, you wouldnt be able to acquire it anyways. So give it up. Do you think anyone can be a scholar? To get a language blessing, one must either master three languages or learn five languages up to a certain level.

Those are the worst conditions!

As someone who didnt get great foreign language grades, I couldnt bring myself to try it.

Knock knock!

Kang Hansoo @! %$*?

%$ $! Kang Hansoo $!

Ladies A and B knocked on the door, calling my name.

Interesting. How did they know I was back?

The male demon, reading my expression, explained it to me with an incredibly displeased face.

The two ladies asked the worker here to let them know as soon as possible when you came back. I see your strength has made you popular with women.

I wonder if theyre trying to ask for help leveling up again.

You have a habit of interpreting peoples good will as materialistic. Youre never getting married like that.

Thats not something an old demon bachelor should be saying.

....

Dont cry.

The two ladies thatd come into the room were wearing very luxurious attire.

Lady A looked a little more extravagant, but Lady B, the swordsman, had a completely different aura after changing from pants to a dress.

Kang Hansoo, $. #%$ #$? &% #% & thanks $& *^ to you this favor #$ &% #% .

Huh?! #$ curse?! $# %?! Even an orc &%#. Orcs &%# in the city #$ &.

Yeah. I dont know what theyre saying.

It looks like Im gonna have to buy more diverse picture books and study harder.

Demon Kogmos translated for me.

Miss Laysha says she was a bit disappointed because she thought you left when she hadnt even repaid your favor. Miss Julia is asking how you got the Massacre Curse.

Aha!

I dont agree with Miss Laysha, but I am also curious about what Miss Julia asked. The Massacre Curse. Just where did you go and what did you do?

Hunting

All I did was get invited to the City of Orcs and massacre the orcs.

I knew this since the first day, but you really are out of your mind. You cant even enter the city with the Heros Curse, but a Massacre Curse on top of that? And your Heros Curse ranked up, I see. Are you back from killing a Hero?

Im being falsely accused here.

I didnt have any excuses for the massacre curse, but not the Heros Curse.

The Evil Goddess had raised the ranks just because I was breathing in the world of Fantasia.

The demon spoke with a disgusted face.

Anyways, Im going to part ways with you in this city. No doubt Im going to die before marriage if I spend any more time with you.

What about the translations?

Now that youre bringing it up, I have something in mind. There is a slave market in the city. Just find a slave with the Language Blessing there.

But you said those Blessings were rare.

You can find a slave who was former princess of a nation as long as you have money, and you sure have a lot of that since you slaughtered all those orcs.

I see.

I didnt know I had a lot of money.

Then what do I do now?

My bag was packed with treasures Id taken as souvenirs from the City of Orcs!

I decided to push back telling him the news. After all, there was no reason for me to tell a demon was parting ways with about my assets.

$# % $?

Kang Hansoo &?

The two ladies were uncomfortable because Id talked to the demon for too long!

But I didnt have anything to talk about. What was I supposed to do?

The demon gave me a pathetic glance.

You sure cant read the room. Why do you think a woman would dress up so much to see a man?

To date?

You went too far this time. Theyre probably trying to see if youre a decent male while going around downtown. Isnt it obvious?

Aha!

There was no use believing a demon that couldnt even get married, but it was obvious they wanted to go out of the inn.

Have fun.

What about you?

The monster prince is in this city. Im done for if he sees me. And I dont care what you do with your fellow human females.

How heartless.

Youre the one who cant read the room! Id only be in the way if I went with you.

Is that how it is?

Thats how it is. Dont make me speak twice, Im really uncomfortable.

Okay!

I went downtown with the ladies I couldnt even talk with.

***

Hero Choi Kangmin broke out in laughter at the boy he met at the village entrance.

You look like a mess, Oh Hanwoo.

Its whats on the inside that matters.

Choi Kangmin wasnt just talking about his clothes thatd gotten dirty from scavenging the forest. After getting kicked around like a soccer ball, Oh Hanwoo looked gruesome!

However, not wanting to lose to the superior, handsome, young boy in front of him, he refuted, unabashed.

The inside? Pff! What a ridiculous excuse.

Fight me if you cant believe it.

Hey, are you serious right now?

Thats right.

Oh Hanwoo was aware.

Choi Kangmins level was much higher than his.

[Revenge]

But the blessing was drastically narrowing the gapit was well worth trying.

[Special]

After all, he was the main character. He could overcome it with grit!

Just then, a girl went between the two boys and cried out, w-wait! Hero Choi Kangmin! Im really sorry to interrupt, but still, I have to ask you to please wait wait just a second!

Aria, hero Yoo Boras partner, begged.

She couldnt help but choke up at the sight of her former partners horribly beat-up face.

To that, Choi Kangmin spoke with a gentle expression.

Miss Aria. what is it you must ask? Ill try my best to listen.

* * *

* * *

I wouldnt dare stop you two from dueling, but Oh Hanwoo is badly injured.

Ah! I see. There has to be a fair battle if I dont want it to bite me later. Thank you for your input, Miss Aria.

N-not at all.

Rather than getting angry, the girls face flushed as the hero in grand armor praised her.

Seeing her act shy, Oh Hanwoos frown deepened.

On the other hand, Choi Kangmin, getting the reaction he wanted, grinned further.

The Saintess stopped in her tracks and narrowed her eyes as she came across the group of Heroes.

Mister Oh Hanwoo. I see youre still causing trouble even after leaving. Time is being wasted here. Hero Choi Kangmin, please wrap this up quickly.

Fwp.

The Saintess lightly waved her hands.

It was a miracle!

Oh Hanwoos sunken nose and broken teeth, as well as other injuries, went back to normal.

Thank you!

I dont know why youre expressing gratitude, Hero Yoo Boras partner.

I-I apologize

Please dont forget who you are partnered with.

Yes, I promise!

Though it was pitiful to see the girl freeze like a statue at the Saintesss criticism, no one paid any attention to her.

The destined duel between the two boys who didnt accept each other had begun.

Oh Hanwoo, lets see those substantial skills of yours!

Sling-

Flare!

A sword in his right hand, and magic on the left.

Hero Choi Kangmin was the very definition of the all-rounder main character in fantasy genres.

On the contrary

Flare~

Having lost all of his gear and relying only on magic, Oh Hanwoo was unstable.

But the flame he produced was bigger than Choi Kangmins.

Youve improved quite a bit over these last couple days.

Noticing he was overpowered when it came to magic, the young boys face hardened slightly.

Choi Kangmin was a mage swordsman.

It was inevitable that he lacked practice compared to a traditional mage.

But even with that in consideration, he could tell Oh Hanwoo had an abnormal amount of talent.

How?

Choi Kangmin had heard from the master hed acquired the Magic Blessing from that mages, who distort reality, are dreamers.

In other words, they must be skilled with delusions.

Because of that, Choi Kangmin lacked magical talent.

Choi Kangmin. Did my magic scare you?

Let me wake you up to reality.

Choi Kangmin made up his mind to kill Oh Hanwoo on the spot.

Not in the sense that he would actually take his life when there were so many eyes on them

Magical talent

A mage that opened their eyes to reality stopped progressingthat was basically equal to death for a mage.

[See Through]

With his entire body exposed from the curse, Oh Hanwoo was completely unarmed. There was no such thing as a hidden weapon.

Although Choi Kangmin wasnt sure why he would see through Oh Hanwoos underwear to the parts he really didnt wish to see, he made a swift decision.

Leap!

He closed the distance with a leap.

If his opponent had been a gnoll, he would have gone into the fight preparing his next ball of flame after throwing the first one.

But he was going against a mage.

It would be reckless of him to have a magic duel against an opponent with clearly stronger magic skills.

Hyap!

A giant fireball from Oh Hanwoo quickly flew in his direction.

[Acceleration]

But Choi Kangmin easily dodged it thanks to his Blessing.

This is nothing ah!

With a content smile, the young boy drew in hot air.

A fireball of the same size was flying towards him again right after hed dodged the first one.

Just how fast was his magic?

It wasnt comparable to his magic master, but it was still abnormally fast compared to the Heroes standard.

Try and block it!

Youre funny.

If he had dueled only with magic, he most likely would have lost.

But Choi Kangmins main talent was swordsmanship, not magic, and he had a hard-earned collection of Blessings.

Pow!

Alrigh- what?!

Oh Hanwoo couldnt understand.

Despite not getting any stronger from the Hunting Curse like the slimes, Choi Kangmin was still fine even after getting hit by the flames.

He tried to shoot more magic, but

Poww!

Is magic the only thing youve got?

Y-you

The results were the same.

The young boy was as calm as ever.

Level three magic was laughable to hero Choi Kangmin when he had multiple Blessings from countless gods.

The only reason hed dodged Oh Hanwoos magic at first was that his pride didnt want to show him getting hit.

This is it, then.

It cant be!

Wake up to reality.

Dont be ridiculous!

Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow!

Oh Hanwoo kept shooting magic in an act of desperation, and Choi Kangmin, ignoring all of that, peacefully went up to his face and lifted his sword high up in the air.

Goodbye.

Eek?!

Oh Hanwoo, who had been in high spirits up until then, felt fear as he was beneath Choi Kangmins sword.

Just then,..

[Special]

Zzzap!

In an instant, the magic in Oh Hanwoos right hand ran out of his control and a black ball of fire bursted out.

What

Huh?

Poooow~!

A gigantic explosion that was bigger than ever before engulfed the two boys.

Kurgh?!

Aack?!

And the result?

The duel between Choi Kangmin and Oh Hanwoo ended in a draw!

[A certain Immature God of Dice is extremely happy with the results.]

[A certain Battle God is extremely uncomfortable.]

[A certain Evil God grabs onto their belly and cackles.]

***

Kang Hansoo #! Thats % @%! %$#? #$ $ &%$. But this is also #$ %$ &^!

#@? I think its %$ %#$. Kang Hansoo ^% this $% $. Or is this # &$?

What about taking around an alien who they couldnt communicate with made those ladies so happy?

Like demon Kogmos pointed out, it was far from a date.

Restaurants, pharmacies, apparel stores, miscellaneous stores, blacksmith workshops, barbershops, and horse stables

I learned the table manners of a noble at an extremely luxurious restaurant.

Isnt one spoon, chopsticks, and plate enough? Those people were making so many dishes to clean with all sorts of weird rules.

[email protected] ready.

Lets go #.

Manner lessons were just the beginning. After dressing me up from head to toe, ladies A and B led me to the center of the city.

I knew they told me they were going to take me somewhere, but I was just blindly following along because I didnt know where that somewhere was.

At the very least, it couldnt be hell, right?

Right?

[a certain God shrugs.]

It looks like the house of a noble

The place the ladies had led me to was the most extravagant house in the city.

#@!

Salute!

As soon as the serious gatekeepers saw the two dressed-up ladies, they respectfully bowed and cleared the way.

Thanks to that, I could also enter the city without identifying myself.

Was I going to meet the mayor or something?

The place felt overwhelming for a simple Earthling like me.

[Outsider]

If I wasnt protected by the Blessing, my heart would have already shriveled up.

#. &$

A cute maid led us into a fancy room.

Creak-

A young boy around my age was looking out the window with a gloomy face.

What a cool aura.

He turned around to speak.

Nice to meet you. I was looking forward to seeing you. These two ladies who hold eminent names at the Academy spoke very highly of you.

Oh?

He can communicate with me?

It is the language Blessing. A prince must be able to communicate with all nations and species. Its nothing special.

A prince

It looked like Id just met the very Prince A that the demon was so vigilant about.