The Formation of the Hero’s Party
Julius and Almeria had both turned fifteen.
In the Titania Kingdom, fifteen was the age of adulthood. All those coming of age that year were gathered together for a celebratory party.
At this party, anyone with a fiancée would enter while escorting her...
Julius had three fiancées, but each of them had refused him, so he stood alone in a corner.
The king appeared and delivered congratulatory words to the newly recognized adults.
“People of the realm, congratulations on reaching adulthood. From this day onward, you shall stand on your own as full-grown adults. However, becoming grown does not mean you are truly alone. You have friends. You have comrades. Never forget that, and lend your strength to the kingdom’s prosperity!”
“I don’t have any friends though... and now even my fiancées...”
“And I have another announcement for you all. I wish to entrust the subjugation of the monsters rampaging across the land to Hero Waltz, who has been granted the class of Hero. Hero Waltz, step forward...”
Hero Waltz climbed the stage, stood beside King Jimetz, and waved.
Some girls squealed loudly.
Julius was thinking he looked like a male idol from his previous life when...
“To accompany Hero Waltz, our kingdom’s Crown Prince, Holy Knight Erason, shall join him.”
And here comes another handsome guy.
The girls’ excitement blasted through the ceiling...
Only the men remained calm.
“And furthermore, my daughter Archer Elizabeth, Mage Milian, Healer Almeria...”
Ahh, aren’t those my fiancées... Haven’t seen their faces in a while.
Now the men’s excitement blasted through the night sky...
They’re my fiancées, damn you all!
“And lastly... porter and errand boy, Julius.”
Hm? Thought I heard someone called. Probably another Julius...
Heyyy, Julius-kun who isn’t me, they’re calling you.
… Wait, I’m the only Julius here.
“Ah... yes...”
I climbed the stage a little late, and from all around me came—
“Why him?”
“Hehehe...”
“Because he’s the errand boy.”
“If he gets sacrificed, it won’t hurt the kingdom...”
“Hey now, I can hear you.”
Yup, I can hear you. But why choose me? Because my fiancées are here?
“Julius, I have words for you later...”
The king wants to talk, huh... Maybe I should skip out.
“By royal decree of Jimetz, King of the Titania Kingdom, I hereby declare the formation of the Hero’s Party! Become the hope of the people, Hero’s Party!”
The whole hall erupted in thunderous applause. (Everyone except me.)
The Hero walked first along the red carpet, waving to everyone as he exited.
Right beside him, the Crown Prince waved too.
Behind them strode the Second Princess, puffing out her chest (flat as a board, though), blonde drill curls swaying.
Beside her came the duke’s daughter, walking while yawning, dragging behind her monstrous things so huge you’d think they made a bounce bounce bounce sound.
Behind her walked my childhood friend, looking restless.
And then, just as I tried to step onto the carpet last...
Feet stretched out from everywhere.
Is tripping me really that fun?
This scene looked exactly like the hazing a transfer student gets on his first day in an old-school classroom. (Straight outta Showa.)
After exiting, I was escorted by waiting soldiers to meet King Jimetz...
And there, I received the curse restriction!
Normally I would’ve dispelled it or reflected it, but for the sake of the curse’s properties and my own plans, I pretended to let it happen... (Pretended, okay?)
Because of the curse, my body felt heavy, mana wouldn’t come out, and my mind felt dull.
Yeah... that’s a pretty strong curse.
But this might push my plans forward even further...
After that, whenever monsters appeared, the Hero’s Party would receive requests to deploy and go exterminate them.
Then the nearby villagers would thank us and treat us...
And after that, I figured the village chief’s daughter would fall for someone, that’s usually the set pattern, right...?
Reality was different.
First off, the Hero’s Party never fought alone.
Monsters were dangerous, so they didn’t get close.
Their escort guards and knights would swarm a single monster and beat it down as a group.
Then the Hero’s Party would deliver the finishing blow.
What is this? Princess-play?
Well... there is an actual princess here.
Still, what a massive letdown.
And while knights and adventurer guards lay wounded beside them, they stood there posing dramatically with swords thrust forward...
The Hero and the Crown Prince Two-Top combo.
They looked kinda lame, honestly, yet my fiancées were watching them all starry-eyed.
No no, you ladies are still my fiancées, you know. For now.
There’s a knight groaning in agony right next to you, covered in wounds...
By this point, they weren’t even scratched, not even dusty. They took off their armor, relaxed, and when we reached the nearby village, they started forcing the village chief to hold a banquet.
For a village that had just been attacked by monsters and was struggling to survive, that was rough...
The Hero’s Party, the knights, even the escort adventurers all started making a racket.
The village chief had tears in his eyes.
And the Hero’s Party kept causing trouble there too. Endless se*ual harassment of village girls, violence against villagers who tried to stop them, and some idiots even relieving themselves in carefully tended fields...
They broke things.
Some even stole things.
In a way, they were worse than bandits, because they had authority.
The next morning, when we left, every villager had a relieved look on their face.
The Hero’s Party, exhausted from last night’s wild drunken revelry, were all asleep in the carriage as it rocked along...
This carriage was a custom-made product from my company. Hardly any shaking, spacious thanks to spatial magic, and climate-controlled too, so everyone was sleeping soundly.
“Well then... time to go,” said Julius as he slipped away.
He told the escort knights, “I forgot something in the village, so go on ahead,” then turned back toward the village.
When I returned, the village chief greeted me with a stiff, strained face...
“I’m truly sorry for those idiots. Would you allow me to compensate you for everything they damaged?”
Every villager looked shocked, but somehow they forgave it, and we settled things with money.
Why was I doing all this?
Because they were still my fiancées, technically...
Even if those relationships were probably going to break soon enough... yeah!
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