The Fake Hero Is Too Strong-Chapter 149

Leon answered without hesitation.
“In my later years, I suddenly had this thought. Leaving this beautiful world behind and going to the underworld felt so unfair I could have died from the resentment. Well, in the end, I did die.”
It was a bizarre idea, fitting for a genius.
“As you know, once the body’s lifespan ends, the soul goes to the underworld. And once you cross the Redby River, you can never return to this world without the help of a necromancer.”
“……”
“But there have only ever been a handful of necromancers, past or present. They can’t just summon me whenever I want.”
“And so?”
“That’s why I made this bell. Even without being a necromancer, if you shake the bell, it can summon any soul.”
We could only open our mouth.
Though he couldn’t express it while lending his body, Adwin was probably the most shocked right now.
Leon spoke with an embarrassed look.
“I left the bell with my son and told him to ring it once a month. I made it so that I could dwell in the body of whoever rang it.”
“……”
“But by the third time, I got sick of it.”
“Knowing your personality, I can imagine.”
“Haha. Anyway, by the third time I told him not to call me anymore. After that, the bell must have stayed in my family as an heirloom.”
He tilted his head.
“Where did you lot even get this?”
“Here.”
“And where is ‘here’… huh?”
He looked around, then his eyes widened.
“This is where I made the bell, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“The village where I studied necromancy didn’t even have an inn. I borrowed a villager’s storehouse for research. This place looks just like it.”
“……”
“Ah, then this must be the place Lord Grade was talking about. Beneath the imperial castle.”
He carried on his reasoning without me needing to explain.
Most of it fit our current situation so well I couldn’t help but be impressed.
Having convinced himself, Leon asked,
“So? What exactly were you planning to do with this bell?”
“One of my party members souls is connected to a minion of the Demon King.”
“Oh?”
“To be precise, the two share a single soul. So when the Demon King’s minion’s soul was erased, my comrade was also affected.”
“Hm. And?”
“And… I was advised that if I go to the underworld, there might be a way to resolve it.”
Leon tilted his head.
“It will be solved if you go to the underworld? How?”
“I won’t know until I go.”
“Then go quickly. I’m curious too.”
Neril stepped forward.
“That advice was just figurative. How can a living person enter the underworld?”
“……”
“Don’t tell me you’re suggesting our leader has to die…”
Before Neril could finish, Leon cut in.
“Don’t worry. With this bell, you can go to the underworld alive.”
Going to the underworld was practically the same as dying.
Since it was my life on the line this time, Neril dropped the honorifics and spoke coldly.
“Don’t lie. That bell just lets non-necromancers summon souls.”
“That was the original purpose, but unexpectedly it gained an additional effect. Using this bell, you can go to the underworld ‘alive.’ To be precise, you can make a round trip.”
“Then why didn’t you go to the underworld alive with it?”
“Because I died of old age. My body was already gone, so there was nothing to return to.”
Neril eased her tone slightly.
“If you’re lying, you will die. You’re already dead, but you will die again.”
“So Lord Grade was right calling you arrogant.”
“If you don’t like my arrogance, explain properly.”
Leon scratched his head.
“I’m not good at explaining… huh?”
Swoosh.
Just then, Adwin separated Leon’s soul from his body.
Like before, he rolled Leon’s spirit around in his palm like a little sphere.
“I have heard that Lord Leon is really bad at explaining things. He just goes, you know, ‘Oh, you do it like this, like that,’ and leaves it at that.”
“Most geniuses are like that.”
“Even you are the same.”
“You’re putting me on Leon’s level?”
“I—I meant it as a compliment, calling you a genius… Anyway, Lord Leon, just tell me. I will translate it into something everyone can understand.”
Leon’s spirit writhed in Adwin’s hand.
He seemed to be explaining intently.
Adwin frowned several times and asked him to clarify again.
After about ten minutes.
“Whoa.”
He let out an incredulous gasp.
As a necromancer, he seemed struck by Leon’s genius that defied common sense.
Adwin spoke in a trembling voice.
“In short, while you’re in the underworld, someone has to keep ringing the bell into your body’s ear.”
“Why?”
“The bell’s sound will echo through your soul into the underworld. The meaning is… ‘This person is not dead. This person will return.’ That’s what it signifies.”
Offense asked in disbelief,
“Is that even possible?”
“Mm. Just a moment.”
Adwin rang the bell.
Twice to the left. Three times to the right.
Then five times alternating.
His mouth fell open.
“Ah… it’s real.”
“Adwin.”
“Each ring of this bell carries the weight of a hundred lines of incantation. How did he compress it all into sound?”
He started explaining excitedly.
But I firmly shook my head.
“When Neril gave me the headband with the Hero’s Mark, I realized people who can’t understand will never understand, no matter what.”
“Haha. True, I didn’t understand anything back then either.”
“Right. Just tell me if it works or not.”
“It works. Absolutely.”
He spread his fingers.
“I will separate your soul from your body. After that, it will naturally head to the underworld.”
“……”
“Any of us can keep ringing the bell into your body’s ear until you finish your business in the underworld and return.”
“Hm.”
“If Xenia keeps healing your soulless body with spells so nothing happens to it… you will become the only person in history to have experienced the underworld alive. It will be a historic event.”
I had no desire to go down in history for something like that.
But for my comrade’s safety, I would do far more.
The problem was…
Offense voiced the thought for me.
“The problem is, why go that far to enter the underworld? Will it really save Serein?”
“Once I’m there, Impelium said he would give me further guidance.”
“He exists in the underworld too?”
“He has always been a mysterious being.”
At that moment, Adwin placed Leon’s soul back into his body.
Soon Leon’s voice returned.
“This brat is terrifying. Even though I’m a hero, he handled my soul so easily.”
“Adwin is a genius too. Not in every field like you, but still a genius.”
“Haha. Thanks for the compliment. I guess I am, huh?”
“Yes. Everything except your personality is outstanding.”
“……”
“Anyway, thank you for your help. That’s enough.”
Leon shrugged his shoulders.
“There’s a lot I want to say and hear, but I will save it for later. We will talk in the underworld.”
“What?”
“If you really come to the underworld, you will meet me and the other heroes. We will tell you more there.”
“……”
“It was nice meeting you. See you soon… when you die.”
Swoosh.
Adwin sent his soul back.
Now only the bell in Adwin’s hand remained.
Our party kept a brief silence.
After a while, Offense asked,
“Are you really going to die?”
“According to Leon, it’s not death, it’s a round trip. And Adwin agreed.”
“B-but…”
“If you’re a Hero, you should at least be able to make a trip to the underworld while alive.”
“……”
“Think about what’s at stake here.”
Xenia murmured,
“Serein’s life…”
“Yeah. Well, to be honest, I don’t actually know if she will really die.”
“What?”
“Why do you think only half of Serein’s soul was erased? That was because Pirensha asked for it.”
“……”
“No matter how you put it, Pirensha didn’t want to die. Simply shackling us down wouldn’t be worth sacrificing her life. That’s why she asked Velosian to erase only half.”
At that moment Neril muttered, almost to herself,
“Or maybe… she didn’t want to die before Idria.”
“Huh?”
“Just a thought. She clung to Idria like a child to her mother.”
It did seem that way… but, no, surely not.
I kept speaking.
“Anyway, whatever the reason, we can’t just leave Serein unconscious like this. If she stays that way, we will never be able to leave her side.”
“Exactly. That’s exactly what Pirensha wanted.”
“Right. So I will make a quick trip. To the underworld.”
“Unbelievable. Now you’re even heading to the underworld? There’s no way any Hero in history has ever done this.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at that.
Then I turned to Adwin.
“Adwin. Let’s begin.”
“Not here. Let’s get outside first.”
“Hm?”
“Once I separate your soul, you will collapse. But here…”
“It’s too cramped. You’re right, let’s go.”
Tap.
We stepped out.
The pure white space with countless doors welcomed us again.
I glanced toward the crimson door.
“Let’s head toward the entrance.”
“Huh? Why bother?”
“This place is too close to that ‘special room.’ No, better yet, we should go all the way outside.”
“Because of Velosian?”
“Yeah. Safer to collapse on Agril’s back.”
Everyone nodded.
We hurried out of the palace’s underground.
As we passed, I stole one last glance at the red door.
Would the day come when I stepped into that room myself?
Once atop Agril, we explained everything to Lisel.
Her eyes darted about as she listened, then she said,
“Ah. I understand perfectly.”
“You said the same when it was about the headband.”
“So basically, Mr. Mide, you’re going to die, right?”
“As I thought, you didn’t understand at all.”
Adwin clarified,
“He is not dying. He is just going to the Underworld alive.”
“Sorry. My head hurts a bit right now.”
“That’s fine. We all feel the same.”
And then.
“Hah… to think I would live to see this…”
Serein!
She forced her eyes open.
She tried to rise, but Lisel frantically held her down.
“Cough, cough!”
Serein coughed violently several times.
Lisel wiped her lips clean, stained red with blood.
I glanced aside. Two other bloodied handkerchiefs were already lying discarded.
With effort, Serein whispered,
“I heard from Lisel that I share a soul with that wretch Pirensha. But… to go to the Underworld for my sake…”
“There is no other way.”
“Mr. Mide, don’t.”
Her eyes trembled.
“You shouldn’t take such risks for someone like me.”
“‘Someone like you’?”
“A two-faced drunk who only cares about money, who pretends to be cute to manipulate her companions… you shouldn’t…”
“Wasn’t that last part a little weird?”
“I don’t want to be a burden to you. To any of you.”
She struggled to breathe, then forced herself to continue.
“You are all far too good for me.”
“……”
“My strange parents kept me locked up at home. I never had a single friend growing up. By the time I finally escaped that abuse, I was already too old.”
“……”
“Even after taking shelter in the temple, I only ever dealt with people through cold calculations. Everyone smiled in front of me, and I smiled back, but in my head I was just figuring out how much I could squeeze out of them.”
Her voice began to quiver with tears.
“People like me aren’t worth your effort.”
I looked around.
My companions all wore faint, knowing smiles.
Noticing, Serein choked up.
“You’re supposed to be moved right now!”
“How can anyone be moved by such nonsense?”
“What?”
“Do you think we’re saints? Pure and clean?”
Of course not.
Not one of my party members lacked a blood script.
Neril’s and Offense’s bodies were practically covered in them.
By my standards, there wasn’t a single saint among us.
“We’re not taking care of you because you’re kind or admirable. We don’t expect that from you.”
“Y-You could at least expect a little.”
0
TS cracking me upx
“And it’s not because we need your abilities, though we do, obviously. But that alone wouldn’t make us go this far.”
“Then why? Why give up even your reputation for me?”
I scratched my head and answered simply,
“Because we like you.”
“……!”
“We all like you. Isn’t that enough?”
“M-Mr. Mide…”
Serein clutched the blanket with trembling hands, her frail body barely able to hold on.
She turned her face away from us, but before she did, I clearly saw the tears streaming from her eyes.
Ssshh.
I stood and said,
“Get some sleep. Though I doubt it will come easy, with the pain.”
Normally, Adwin would have soothed her soul into rest. But with half of it erased, touching it carelessly might have led to disaster.
The same went for Neril’s sleep magic or Offense’s sedatives.
Then Lisel spoke.
“Shall I sing you a lullaby, Serein?”
“Don’t treat me like a child just because I’m sick.”
“Well, compared to my age, you are a child.”
“Lisel… ugh.”
“Thank you, all of you. Please leave her to me.”
We nodded and withdrew from the carriage.
Before I closed the door, I heard Lisel’s lullaby mixing with Serein’s sobs.
Click.
Outside, I said,
“Let’s leave the capital. The farther we get from that special room, the better.”
“Right.”
“But be careful. Even weakened outside the room, Velosian is still a monster.”
Everyone nodded firmly.
I whispered to Trail,
‘Trail. If Velosian shows up while I’m gone…’
[You don’t even need to ask. Of course I will face him.]
‘…Thanks.’
[No need to thank me for something so obvious.]
I smiled softly.
Neril spoke up,
“Don’t worry. We are not as great as you, but we are heroes too.”
“Neril…”
“Go with peace of mind. Until you come back, I will protect your body… and Serein.”
“……”
“Just promise you will come back alive, Mide.”
I nodded, smiling.
She too managed a faint smile.
Alright. Time to go.
I signalled Adwin.
He began chanting.
My mind grew hazy in an instant.
My ties to this world were completely cut away.
A brush with death itself.
…Truly, I have experienced it all now.
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