Chapter 212: Hero’s Grave
"Is it already this late, huh... I should wake up soon," I thought to myself.
I was staying at Leon and Monica's parents' house... but I woke up in the middle of the night.
Despite feeling a bit uneasy about sleeping in Leon's bed, I had no other option as I couldn't sleep in the same room as the girls.
Usually I sleep with Aeris, Nagisa, Urza, and the others, but since this house also had Leon's mother and sister, as well as three members of Leon's party, I couldn't spend a passionate night at someone else's home.
Aeris and the others are staying in Monica and Anemone's room together with Leon's party.
"I'll equip this... Alright, let's go."
I took out a stealth-specialized equipment called the "Assassin's Cloak" from my item bag and put it on.
This armor makes me less visible and makes it harder for me to encounter monsters.
Of course, it also works against humans. So, I'll be less likely to get caught even if I sneak out of the room.
"......"
As I became a stealth-equipped, I silently left the room and walked down the hallway while holding my breath.
Of course, the purpose of my sneaking out of the room is not to sneak into the girls' room and crawl on them at night.
Also, there was no way I was going to take this opportunity to attack Leon's mother like in the game Zenon Baskerville.
My purpose for going out is to clear the sub-events that occur in this village.
In this village, the birthplace of the hero... Coraggio, several sub-events occur.
Some of them occurred before the departure of the hero, and some of them occurred after a certain period of time.
On the way to this village, I confirmed with Ciel and the others that Leon has never returned to his hometown since enrolling in the academy.
He has been training himself to fight against me during long vacations such as summer vacation, and he has never returned to Coraggio village.
"So, that means the events and valuable items are left untouched."
With this thinking, I leave Leon's house and walk through the village, which is quiet at midnight.
In the capital, there are bars open even at this hour, and drunken people wander around... but in this village, there are none.
The doors of shops and houses were closed, and the entire village seemed to be asleep.
But the place I wanted was on the outskirts of the village - the graveyard where the event I needed to clear would take place tonight.
"So this is the tomb of the legendary hero..."
In one of the small graveyards on the outskirts of the village, a hero who once sealed the Demon King and saved the world is buried.
The name engraved on the old gravestone is so faded that it is no longer possible to read what was engraved on it.
The condition for triggering the event was to visit this place alone at night and touch the tombstone of the legendary hero.
"Oh... so you showed up."
When I touch the desolate tombstone, something like a blue phosphorescent light rose from the ground.
The light condensed into the shape of a person, and eventually, the figure of a human in full armor with a sword at their waist appeared before me.
The human whose face I could not see because of their helmet was not the legendary hero who once saved the world... but one of the companions who had traveled with the hero.
"Ghost Knight Elia Carsbell. It's sad to see a person who saved the world with the hero end up like this."
'......'
The armored knight does not respond to my ridicule, but draws the sword and holds it at the ready.
Sje pointed the tip of the sword at me without question, and her whole body radiated a strong killing spirit.
I also drew my sword and held it at the ready, facing the knight head-on.
'I'm, coming...'
"Ah, I'm getting sleepy, so come on already."
'AAAAAAAH!'
The ghost knight steps forward with a mighty swing of her sword, which she holds in the upper stance.
It was a devastating blow that could even destroy a dragon's skull if it landed squarely.
It was a deadly technique that could be described as nothing less than a one-hit kill, from the knight who had once traveled with a hero.
"Hmph..."
'......!'
But... I evade such a blow by shifting my body to the side.
Avoiding a simple and fast attack without any feint was not difficult.
"The attack pattern is the same as in the game. It was a boring way to end."
I crossed my body with the ghost knight and unleashed a horizontal slash.
My light sword, designed for use against the undead, cut the knight's waist in two, instantly killing her.
'Ah, it's...'
The helmet of the undead knight falls off, revealing the face of a beautiful blonde woman
She murmurs someone's name sadly and then disappears like a mist.
A small thud is heard, and something falls on the ground.
It is a ring, a drop item. It is a valuable item with a special effect, but there is a 20% chance that it will be broken during the battle, and I wanted to get it because I had no stock in my item bag.
As a side note, the ghost knight I mentioned earlier was a legendary knight who had once traveled with a legendary hero and had defeated the Demon King together.
But she was also the one who had killed the hero in a fit of madness and unrequited love.
After all, she had loved him as a man.
However, the hero returned to his hometown after defeating the Demon King and chose to be married to his childhood friend.
The lady knight tried to give up the hero... but she could not.
Consumed by obsession and twisted love, she had been swayed by the devil's whispers and killed the hero when he came to visit the village. After killing the man she loved, she came to her senses and chose to take her own life.
And having committed the crime of killing her fellow man, she was unable to be reborn even after her death and had to remain on the earth.
Now as an undead, she waits in front of the tomb of the hero, hoping that a strong man will appear to kill her.
"...After saving the world, it's not all happily ever after. Well, life goes on after the ending."
Even after defeating the Demon King, the hero still had to live on
The same goes for me.
Even if I keep my villainous character and defeat the Demon King, there is no guarantee that my life after that will be smooth sailing.
After all, this world is no longer a game.