Humans are doomed to be annihilated by the Dark Overlord.
I have seen it happen countless times, in many different ways.
I belong to a divine lineage that stands against him, and as the Oracle of the Everlight, I have been granted a special ability.
Every time I die, time rewinds to a fixed point.
This cycle repeats until the cause of my death is erased.
In other words, until the Dark Overlord is defeated.
The hero's role is to vanquish him, but it is said that the one who guides the hero is the prophet.
And that prophet? Nothing more than an illusion of my own creation.
No one knows who the true hero is.
I have reset the world countless times, searching for the one who can take the role of savior.
But how many times has this world been rewritten?
I often wonder.
In the beginning, the "hero" I guided bore the name of a figure I once heard about from a certain knight.
How many cycles had passed by the time I first learned of him?
"That adventurer, Rainer, is a terrible person."
That was what an old knight, one of the guardians of Velstadt, once told the "hero."
Adventurers would take on any request, from simple farm work to hunting monsters—so long as they were paid.
Few, however, were strong enough to defeat powerful beasts. Those who were, had already perished in battle against the Dark Overlord's army in the kingdom of Lysoria.
Rainer, however, was one of the rare survivors of the Lysoria Massacre. His companions were also veterans, forming one of the few adventuring groups capable of handling high-risk missions.
"They came to Velstadt looking for gold," the old knight continued. "At the time, the city was under siege by the Overlord's forces. We knights, soldiers, and mercenaries stood together and managed to hold them back.
Then Rainer and his group arrived.
They boasted that they could destroy the demons—for a reward ten times higher than what other adventurers had asked for. They practically threatened me, saying that if I didn't meet their demands, they would walk away and leave us to die."
He could make such arrogant demands because he knew Velstadt was desperate. Some adventurers had fought to protect the city without asking for anything in return.
"Demons are humanity's common enemy. Shouldn't we stand together and fight?"
The "Hero" nodded solemnly.
Elias: "However, Rainer and his companions were among the few who survived Lysoria. He was a skilled warrior, and the creature that targeted Velstadt was no ordinary demon. In the end, the city lord had no choice but to accept his terms. It was a small glimmer of hope.
And yes, Rainer fulfilled the request. He killed the demon.
However..."
The knight shook his head, his face shadowed with exhaustion.
"Rainer's strategy was to use the city—and us—as bait. While we fought desperately to defend Velstadt, he and his group remained hidden, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He let the battle drag on until the city's walls nearly collapsed, until the enemy had committed their full forces, leaving an opening.
It wasn't a bad plan, tactically speaking. But do you know how many knights, soldiers, and adventurers died because of it? More than half of them.
My son was among them.
Meanwhile, not a single one of Rainer's comrades fell."
The knight clenched his fists.
"I understand. It was calculated. Efficient.
But I cannot accept it.
Rainer and his men took their reward and left the moment the battle was over. Velstadt was still drowning in grief, yet to them, it was as if they had no more reason to stay. They showed no sympathy for the families of the fallen. They did not even donate a single coin to rebuild what was lost.
How heartless.
Rainer was an exceptional warrior, but if someone like him stood beside the hero, it would only taint the hero's name."
The knight exhaled sharply, bitterness in his voice.
"I'm not saying he should have sacrificed himself. But he didn't even suffer a single serious injury. If he and his group had stepped in earlier, perhaps the death toll among the city's defenders would have been far lower.
Maybe my son would have lived.
I confronted Rainer about it. Do you know what he said?"
The knight's voice hardened.
"'Our job is to kill demons, not to save cities.'"
The Wandering Knight gazed at the sky, as if searching for answers among the stars.
"Yes... That must be it."
The "Hero" wore a sorrowful expression—just as I had when I realized what kind of person Rainer truly was.
When it comes to rewards, nothing is more thankless than being a hero.
Defeat the Dark Overlord, return home—maybe you'll be crowned king.
But that's nothing more than a naive dream.
The hero's path is relentless, exhausting. There is almost no reward. Defeat one monster, and another emerges. Overcome one trial, and another awaits.
No one will sing your praises. No one will compensate you.
A hero is expected to be noble—not because virtue is required, but because without it, they will crumble under the weight of their burdens.
Perhaps Rainer is, in his own way, righteous. He demands fair payment. He prioritizes survival.
Maybe that is necessary to endure in this world.
But that does not make him a hero.
And so, I erased Rainer's name from the list of hero candidates—
And for a time, I forgot he had ever existed.