A middle-aged man rushed towards a house located in the heart of the village, known as Galantha. He was urgently seeking the village elder, the leader of their community.
"Elder! Elder!" the man shouted in a haste.
Soon, an elderly figure emerged from the house. The elder received the middle-aged man and inquired, "What's wrong?"
"It's about the adventurers from before. Two of them have returned," the man reported.
"What? Didn't the bandit boss claim they were dead?" the elder questioned.
"Yes, that's what we all heard. But it's true, they have come back," the man affirmed.
The elder stroked his beard in contemplation and remarked, "Then we should promptly inform those bandits."
The middle-aged man wore a troubled expression. "I understand they wanted those adventurers, but should we, Elder? The bandits believe those two adventurers to be dead. Should we really tell them?"
"Do you suggest we let them go? Remember, those bandits demand that we hand over our people because only one of the adventurers is alive. If we send these two adventurers to them, we can avoid paying tributes," the elder explained.
The middle-aged man displayed a conflicted expression but ultimately acquiesced to the elder's decision. "Very well, I will convey the message."
"Good. It's unfortunate for them, but we have no choice. It's a matter of our survival," the elder concluded, and the middle-aged man departed. The elder sighed with a hint of bitterness, resigned to the necessity of his actions.
***
Meanwhile, Gil and Elise had arrived at the lodgings they had arranged before venturing into the dungeon. Since there was no inn available, they rented two houses in the village to use as a place to rest. But now since only Gil remained, the house was for each one of them.
Gil fell asleep but woke up after three hours, unable to rest properly due to the persistent thoughts about being a hero. He decided to leave his room and was surprised to find Elise inside the same house.
"What are you doing here?" Gil asked, his expression flat and slightly sour.
Elise didn't respond directly but began with a playful smile before asking, "Can I stay here with you?"
Gil blinked several times, his expression remaining flat as he replied, "Get out."
Denied her request, Elise pleaded, "Wait, please listen to my reasons. Didn't you find it strange how the villagers reacted when we arrived?"
Elise was referring to the villagers' evident shock upon their arrival. "That elder also struck me as suspicious," she continued.
Elise had a knack for reading people's expressions, and upon seeing the elder's welcoming face as if he was making a surprised expression welcoming them, she suspected that he and the other villagers were concealing something.
Unfortunately, Gil hadn't noticed this during their arrival.
"Don't know, don't care. Get out," he said, dismissing her once more.
Elise made a pained face after hearing Gil's response. However, she realized that the issue of the hero still weighed heavily on Gil's mind.
"That Hero thing still inside your mind? Damn, how much you hate that? I think you are the only one who didn't really want this much of being a hero."
"There's nothing good about being a Hero!" Gil exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
If Elise had known all the things Gil knew about the grim fate of a hero in this world, likely to be betrayed by their closest people, she would have probably chosen to stay silent.
As Gil contemplated the fate of a hero in the game that had fate being cucked, Gil remembered the thing that Elise had done to Lack with Anderson. He recalled that Elise was in one spectrum with the girls in the game who didn't have a problem with NTR-ing someone, leading him to say, "People like you, with no loyalty, will never understand!"
Elise was taken aback by Gil's sudden anger. His outburst left her feeling perplexed because she couldn't fully grasp the source of his anger. However, based on his words, she sensed that she had touched upon some painful memories for him.
Nonetheless, one phrase Gil uttered deeply offended her. "I apologize if my words have offended you, but to suggest that I lack loyalty is surely an exaggeration, isn't it?" she responded defensively.
But her rebuttal further fueled Gil's agitation. "No, that's the best way to describe you! Do you not remember what you did to Lack?! If I don't lie before his last moment, just imagine how he would feel if he learns about you screwing around with Anderson behind his back. I bet you slept with many guys already, right? You f*cking whore!" Gil's words were sharp and unrelenting. He took a deep breath, but the anger still pulsed within him. He continued, "Why does a mage have an affinity to screw around with many people? F*ck!" he muttered under his breath, concluding with a curse.
Elise who heard all of Gil's angry words immediately realized what made Gil angry.
"Is that why you're so upset?" she questioned. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but some adults did that too, you know, screwing around with random people. As for Lack, it's unfortunate, but I do intend to properly tell him after this quest, just like I promised before. Sadly, it couldn't happen."
A sigh escaped her lips before she continued. "Geez, to think that you got angry over this matter. Like, how will you survive the academy at this rate? You know that your peers also have this kind of behavior like me, right?"
Initially, Gil was inclined to become angry again at Elise's nonchalant response. However, when she mentioned that students at the academy also had the same behavior, he fell silent, grappling with this new revelation.
Observing Gil's sudden silence, Elise asked, "W-wait, you don't know?... Oh right, you're a first-year. Well, take this as a warning from me, okay."
Gil was not oblivious to this not because he was a first-year student, but because this was an aspect that wasn't present in the game.
He slumped to the floor, his mind in turmoil. 'If I am a hero, then nothing good awaits me in the academy.' Despair etched across his face as he grappled with this disheartening realization.
Seeing Gil's pitiful reaction, Elise couldn't help but feel empathetic. She knew Gil was a softie, but she hadn't anticipated the extent of his distress upon learning about the possibility of being a hero and the immoral culture at the academy.
This side of Gil intrigued Elise, as she believed he was the only one with such a peculiar trait. She then racked her brain for answers to Gil's problems.
'Something not involving with the Hero thing and academy... Right!' Then an answer came to her mind.
"Why don't you become my pupil, Gil? That way you can skip the academy then I'll help you to hide your identity as a Hero candidate."
Upon hearing this, Gil couldn't help but shoot Elise a disapproving look.