Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad [EN]: Chapter 132

Entering the village wasn’t difficult.

Although the guards at the entrance looked grim, they let us in immediately when we said we were travelers.

It didn’t seem particularly hostile to outsiders.

“It’s so peaceful here.”

“Yes.”

The village was as quiet and peaceful as it looked from the outside.

The villagers moved at a leisurely pace, and there were hardly any armed people.

Children played innocently everywhere.

“It’s like heaven and earth compared to Keaton.”

“Most small villages in remote areas have this kind of atmosphere. The village is managed either by a noble dispatched by the lord or by a village chief elected from within.”

“That means there are fewer people sucking the blood from above.”

“That’s right…”

It was a bitter reality.

As you go to the city, the buildings get taller, and people’s living standards seem to improve, but appearances can be deceiving.

The stronger the light, the darker the shadow.

The bigger the city, the stickier the shadows are bound to be.

However, there is no real shadow in such a small village.

Everyone was like a neighbor, creating a relatively peaceful atmosphere.

“Excuse me. I’d like to stay for a day. Is there an inn?”

“Ah, you must be from out of town.”

“Yes.”

“If you follow this road, you’ll find an inn. It’s the only inn in the village, so you’ll find it easily.”

“Thank you.”

Asking a passing resident for directions, the group easily found the inn.

“Welcome!”

Opening the door and entering, the innkeeper greeted us with a hearty laugh.

“You must be travelers from outside.”

“Yes.”

“Haha. To come to such a rural village. You must have quite the wanderlust.”

Choi Hyun-seok chuckled at the innkeeper’s good-natured joke.

“How much is it for a night’s stay?”

“Three copper coins per day. Basic meals are one copper coin. If you want a hot bath, you’ll have to pay an additional one copper coin.”

Choi Hyun-seok took out a money pouch from his backpack.

‘Hmm… Copper is equivalent to bronze coins. Fifty bronze coins make one silver coin…’

Choi Hyun-seok currently had most of his money in gold coins.

Although it varies from country to country, the basic currency system is as follows:

1 gold = 20 silver

1 silver = 50 copper

1 gold = 1,000 copper

In other words, one gold coin can be exchanged for one thousand bronze coins.

‘Change… I need change…’

Fortunately, he found a few silver coins in the corner of his pouch.

Choi Hyun-seok took out one silver coin and handed it over.

“Here you go.”

“How many rooms would you like? One? Or two?”

Choi Hyun-seok glanced at Abelson.

Her expressionless face and the eyes looking up at him seemed to be saying, ‘What are you even worrying about?’

“Two, give us two rooms. Haha!”

***

That night.

Even at a late hour, Abelson couldn’t fall asleep.

Even though she had taken a shower with warm water for the first time in a while and had a hearty dinner, she somehow didn’t feel good.

Her chest felt too stuffy.

‘Is this okay?’

In fact, she had a concern.

A concern she couldn’t tell anyone else.

‘I vowed to follow God’s will and do justice, but…’

At first, she thought this.

She doesn’t enjoy wielding the mace.

She just enjoys the fact that she is doing justice with her own hands.

She made excuses like that, but deep down, she knew.

‘I have to be honest. Let’s admit it.’

The beginning of solving all problems is recognizing and accepting that there is a problem.

‘I enjoy wielding the mace.’

She enjoys wielding the mace.

To be exact, smashing something with the mace gave her a thrilling sensation.

And the best of all was smashing heads.

‘Can I say that I’m following justice while exercising such ruthless violence? Was I actually an evil person…’

Her worries continued late into the night.

Her chest only felt more stuffy.

Eventually, Abelson got out of bed.

Creak…

Carefully opening the door, she went down the stairs and out of the inn.

“Haa…”

Feeling the cool night air, she felt a little clearer.

“Should I throw away the mace…”

She looked at the mace in her hand.

Thanks to Choi Hyun-seok’s advice, the dried blood and flesh had been cleaned off.

Nevertheless, the essence of this object does not change.

A tool for breaking something.

An object solely for the purpose of cruel destruction.

“Hoo…”

Her sigh deepened.

She didn’t want to pretend to be virtuous now.

But she didn’t want to give up everything and live.

Helping people and realizing justice is the path Abelson has been pursuing so far.

Is it okay to use such a tool on a noble path, to include her own ugly desires?

Her chest became stuffy again.

‘Hmm…?’

Suddenly, Abelson’s expression slightly distorted.

‘Why is my chest so stuffy?’

She thought it was just because of her worries, but the extent was more serious than she thought.

‘Come to think of it… I’ve felt uneasy since entering the village.’

A subtly unpleasant feeling.

Even though it was clearly a peaceful village, Abelson couldn’t shake the feeling that one side of her chest was uncomfortable.

‘Why is this…’

At that moment, she felt a faint magical energy not far away.

‘Who is it!?’

It’s not Choi Hyun-seok or Bobo.

The two’s control of magical energy is excellent, so Abelson can’t feel it unless she makes up her mind to look into it.

In the first place, the direction she felt was different.

After briefly considering waking Choi Hyun-seok, Abelson shook her head.

‘If it’s magical energy, I can handle it.’

Abelson’s foundation is divine power.

If the enemy is using magical energy, she can fully demonstrate her strengths.

She ran quickly in the direction where the magical energy was felt.

‘It’s there.’

Finally arriving in front of an alley.

Now, she only needs to turn the corner to reach the place where the magical energy is felt.

Abelson entered the alley without delay.

‘A demon…?’

What she saw was a man with a sturdy physique.

The magical energy was flowing from him.

At the demon’s feet, a woman was bleeding and collapsed.

Tatat!

The demon, facing Abelson, quickly began to run away.

Abelson hurriedly tried to chase after him, but the difference in speed was too extreme.

His movements were almost as agile as Choi Hyun-seok.

“Hoo…”

Abelson had no choice but to give up the chase.

She approached the woman lying on the floor.

“…”

She couldn’t feel a pulse.

The woman’s heart had already stopped.

‘Why on earth is a demon here…’

As Abelson was pondering.

“Stop!”

Villagers appeared and surrounded her.

“He, Hera is dead!”

“Hera!”

It seemed that the name of the woman lying on the floor was Hera.

The self-defense force, looking agitated, pressed Abelson.

“Who are you!?”

“A woman I’ve never seen before.”

“She’s a stranger who came in today.”

“Did the stranger kill Hera!?”

The way they were whispering among themselves, she was about to be framed as the culprit.

Abelson raised her hand.

“Don’t misunderstand. I just happened to find her while taking a walk.”

“A walk? Don’t lie! Then what’s that in your hand!”

Abelson looked at her hand.

“This is…”

In her hand was a hideous mace.

“You killed Hera!”

“Arrest her! Let’s take her and interrogate her!”

***

The next day.

Waking up, Choi Hyun-seok realized that Abelson was gone.

“Rachel! Abelson is gone! Do you know where she went!?”

“How would I know…”

Rachel rubbed her sleepy eyes, still not fully awake.

“Abelson is missing! She’s not the type to go anywhere without saying anything…”

“Maybe she got tired of you and left.”

“Shut up!”

Choi Hyun-seok grabbed Rachel by the scruff of her neck and quickly came downstairs.

Just in time, the innkeeper, who was in the hall, greeted him.

“Oh! You’re up.”

“Have you seen the person who came with me!?”

Choi Hyun-seok asked in a hurried voice.

“The person who came with you? If you’re talking about that pretty woman, I haven’t seen her…”

“Damn it!”

“Why don’t you relax and wait while having breakfast? She might have just gone out for a walk.”

“This is not the time to…!”

“This morning, we have a special mutton soup prepared.”

“Hmm…”

A look of concern flashed across Choi Hyun-seok’s face.

Rachel, who was next to him, gave him a dumbfounded expression.

“Are you even human, Hero?”

“Wh, what are you talking about! I definitely didn’t hesitate!”

“The thief is the first to accuse…”

At that moment, the inn door opened, and a group of people rushed in.

“Labi! Is there anyone here named Labi Bahet!?”

Labi Bahet is the alias Choi Hyun-seok uses.

“Oh! I’m Labi!”

“Come with us right now.”

“Yes?”

“That person is looking for you.”

***

The place they arrived at, following the residents, was the town hall located in the center of the village.

There, Abelson was enjoying a luxurious breakfast.

“Ah… Lord Alienne? What’s going on?”

“Lord Labi, please eat too. You haven’t had breakfast yet, have you?”

“I understand.”

He was already hungry anyway.

Choi Hyun-seok sat down at the table and started eating.

It was a great breakfast worth giving up the mutton soup for.

“Actually, I met a demon last night.”

“A demon, you say?”

Choi Hyun-seok asked, surprised.

“Yes. After that…”

Abelson explained the whole story of what happened last night.

“So, you showed them your divine power and… claimed to be a priest of the Deusis Order [a fictional religious order]…”

Choi Hyun-seok, about to say ‘lied,’ changed his words at Abelson’s cold gaze.

“You proved to the… misguided that you are a true priest.”

“Yes.”

Last night.

The people who saw Abelson’s divine power immediately prostrated themselves on the floor.

“Yo, you’ve finally come!”

“God has sent an envoy to save us!”

After that, Abelson was being treated like a noble and taking a luxurious rest.

“So, what happened to that demon?”

“The village chief will explain that to you.”

Just in time, the meal was over.

After the table was cleared, an old man came in with tea.

“Hello. I’m Preston, the village chief.”

Choi Hyun-seok bowed lightly.

Preston carefully began to speak.

“The first incident happened half a year ago.”

Half a year ago.

A murder occurred in the village.

A man was found brutally beheaded by the river.

Since it was such a small village, contrary to expectations that they would be able to find the culprit quickly, people couldn’t even find a clue.

As the case fell into a mystery.

The second murder occurred.

The second victim was a child, and some of the body was roughly cut off as if it had been torn off.

Only then did people realize that this was not just a murder case.

“At first, I asked the lord for help. But…”

The lord sent a squad of ten soldiers after a month.

In the meantime, two more victims were killed, but the villagers were relieved.

‘It’ll be okay now.’

‘The lord’s soldiers will catch the culprit.’

And the next day.

The ten soldiers who had been searching the village until late at night were all found dead.

“Then the lord’s knight visited the village, but…”

He could guess the rest of the story without hearing it.

“The knight died too.”

“Yes… After that, the lord no longer sends people.”

Choi Hyun-seok sighed at the chief’s words.

‘He gave up.’

Knights are valuable resources.

He didn’t want to waste any more of those resources on such a rural village.

“The lord advised us to settle elsewhere, but we didn’t want to leave our hometown.”

“So, you’ve been in this state ever since?”

“Yes… We collected money from the residents and requested the mercenary guild, but…”

The results were all failures.

“They ask for more money. They say that at least a high-ranking gold or mithril-level mercenary needs to come to solve the problem.”

“Does it cost that much money?”

“We’ve already spent ten gold coins on the request. But to meet the requirements the guild is talking about, we need at least twenty more gold coins.”

“…”

“Where would we get that much gold in this mountain village… We’re barely able to meet the taxes we have to pay to the lord.”

The chief looked at Abelson with an agitated face.

“That’s when the priest here came! Surely, she noticed the danger in our village…!”

Choi Hyun-seok stopped the chief’s words.

“I understand the situation, but we haven’t confirmed that we’ll take the request yet.”

“Yes…?”

The chief’s eyes widened.

Abelson also sent him a look that asked what he meant.

“Ahem, the priest Alienne here is a wonderful person, but there are many people looking for her… services. We can’t waste time foolishly.”

Choi Hyun-seok didn’t accept the request and stalled for time.

‘It’s about time he showed up…’

There was a reason he was stalling for time.

Ding!

A familiar alarm rang.

A hero quest appeared in front of Choi Hyun-seok.

★☆★☆ Hero Quest! ★☆★☆

Helping those in need is the true virtue of a hero!

Even you, a materialistic person, are a proper regular hero.

Accept the chief’s request and solve the mysterious murder case in the village!

· Objective: Defeat the murderer

· Reward: Experience and 500 Hero Points

Choi Hyun-seok cheered at the quest.

“That’s right!”

Abelson stared at Choi Hyun-seok.

Her expression wondered what he was doing.

“Ahem, ahem! Excuse me for a moment.”

Choi Hyun-seok put on a serious face and opened his mouth.

“God has just spoken. He tells me to help you.”

“…?”

Abelson’s expression became even more distorted.