A massive, mountain-like frame.
Steel-hard muscles that looked as though they could never be broken.
And a crushing pressure that bore down on my shoulders.
Facing an undisputed powerhouse, my body began to stir of its own accord.
Even though I had no intention of fighting, my instincts reacted to his killing intent, and my blood began to boil without my permission.
*This is insane...*
I had wanted to end this as peacefully as possible, but it seemed my opponent had no intention of letting me off easily.
*I shouldn't have agreed to help.*
I hadn't known that accepting Materia's request would lead to this, though I knew it wouldn't be something I could simply brush off. Why on earth did I agree to help her?
*It was weirdly hard to refuse...*
I'd never been good at saying no to begin with, but she was different.
How should I put it? Her aura? Her presence? Something indescribable, something I had never experienced before, radiated from her.
Because of that, I'd foolishly accepted, and now I was in this mess. Maybe my luck had finally run out.
"Do you have no intention of answering?"
"Ah, no. I'll answer..."
That was what I said, but honestly, I had no real answer for this situation.
I couldn't exactly say, "I came from the future." If I did, he'd probably think I was mocking him and try to kill me on the spot.
What mattered right now was not proving who I was, but proving that I meant him no harm.
Then...
"...We're not fighting right now, are we?"
"...What?"
"If I meant to interfere, wouldn't I have rushed at you with a sword already?"
It was an absurdly arrogant line, but I had already proven my worth.
The clash with that woman, Arphia. She was clearly a powerhouse, one who could stand toe-to-toe with the man before me.
If I had fought her on even footing—even if not at full strength—then my words carried weight.
Whether that was good weight or bad weight, I had no idea.
"I see."
Every movement he made seemed to fill the entire space around us.
The aura of a perfected martial artist possessed something truly special.
Just like when I had faced Otaru, every breath he took began to press down on me.
The difference was that back then, I had been crushed by that pressure; now, I was standing my ground with my head held high.
I had grown, at least a little.
"I understand what you're trying to say, but that alone isn't enough."
But of course, nothing was ever going to be easy.
"What if we back off now and you ambush us during the quest? You are someone capable of matching Arphia's magic. If that happened, it wouldn't be strange for us to be wiped out."
I couldn't say anything in response to that perfectly reasonable argument, which shattered my logic head-on.
It was true; I couldn't rule out that possibility.
Even if I had no intention of doing such a thing, no one else could know my heart.
Even if a god vouched for me, human hearts are like reeds; they can never be absolute.
"But if you put it that way, then I can't do anything."
Still, that didn't mean I could just nod and accept it.
At this time, the greatest factions were said to be the Zeus and Hera Familias, but that didn't mean there were no other strong powers.
The Loki Familia and Freya Familia, who would one day become the strongest, were still active. And from what I'd heard yesterday, the Egyptian-style Familias were no joke either.
Apparently, they were preparing to go to war with the Zeus and Hera Familias. A Familia with a Lv. 7 member was openly showing hostility, yet these men ignored that threat to come after me instead? It was outrageous.
"Don't worry about that. We'll crush them before the quest starts."
That savage declaration left me speechless for a moment. What did he just say?
"I said we'll crush them."
"No, no, no. Wait, that's way too far, isn't it?!"
"What is?"
"What do you mean, 'what is'? You're talking about destroying a whole Familia..."
"What's the problem?"
The giant looked genuinely puzzled by my reaction.
His expression was so matter-of-fact that it almost made me wonder if I was the one with the warped common sense.
"The moment one becomes an adventurer, one is prepared for death. Furthermore, if they've drawn their blades against the Zeus Familia, then paying the price is only natural."
"Th-that's... still, there may be people who were forced to join against their will, or people who aren't even combatants..."
"Natural luck is also a skill. If they want to blame someone, they should blame their own fate for joining such a Familia."
At those words, I felt a sudden surge of indignation.
"...Isn't that a little too harsh?"
"...What?"
"To dismiss everything as 'fate' and tell them to just accept it—isn't that far too cold?"
I didn't know their circumstances. No one else did either, probably.
And so they would collapse in silence, unknown to anyone.
How many people cursed the heavens because of the hand they were dealt at birth?
How many withered away simply because they were never given a chance?
His words, brushing away their tears, their screams, and their laments with nothing more than the word "fate," were truly infuriating.
"If there are a hundred people, there are a hundred different stories. Don't dismiss all of them with a single word like fate."
"...Are you lecturing me right now? You?"
"Yes."
I wasn't thinking about the past or what would happen in the future.
No matter what happened, no matter what grand cause existed, the lament of those who had been robbed would never disappear.
No matter the reason, there were surely things that must never be done.
"An idealist, then. That is the very definition of hypocrisy. That is the very definition of evil."
The martial artist snapped back at me.
"What value is there in a good that cannot be achieved? No matter how righteous it may be, if it cannot be realized, it is worth less than evil."
"..."
I knew it. I knew my words were nothing more than a child's tantrum.
I knew the man before me was looking at reality, while my ideals were just ideals.
But... but that was exactly why I had dreamed of becoming a hero, wasn't it?
Wasn't that why I became one?
Even if I was a shabby, battered, ragged hero.
I had upheld my hypocrisy to the very end.
If hypocrisy that cannot be upheld is evil, then hypocrisy that is upheld must be true good.
In truth, whether it was hypocrisy or not didn't matter.
What mattered was the will to uphold it.
"[Do not be swayed by another's will.]"
"...!"
"[Do not decide because someone told you to. Decide because you thought it through yourself. This is your story.]"
"You..."
"Don't try to sweep everything away with a single word like fate."
No matter who said it was impossible, I would walk this path.
No matter the place, no matter the time. I would establish a conviction that would not waver.
Only then could one be called a hero.
That was why I became a hero.
...Right, Grandpa?
"You'd fight me over something like that? For people you don't even know?"
"I'd prefer not to fight if possible. But if I have to, then I'll fight."
"Even if you die...?"
At his words, I smiled faintly and answered.
"[If one is worthy of being called a hero, it is not the one who wields a sword, nor the one who bears a shield, nor the one who offers comfort.]"
"[It is the one who stakes their very self that is called a hero.]"
"Listen, I wanted to become a hero. I came here because I dreamed of being one."
"..."
The giant listened to me in silence.
He carried an air of arrogance, as if saying, "Go on, then," yet he remained quiet, suggesting he was truly listening.
"If I were going to run away just because I was afraid of death, I wouldn't have made it this far in the first place."
I put strength into my legs.
I straightened my back and lifted my head, meeting his gaze without flinching.
The man's image filled my one remaining eye.
Our gazes crossed.
"I don't know your circumstances. So I'll only say one thing."
To the giant, who looked a little surprised, I continued without backing down.
"If you intend to destroy other people's lives with nothing but the excuse of fate, then you'll have to get past me first."
Otherwise, it would never be possible.
Our eyes met. Neither the giant nor I looked away.
And so the standoff with the strongest being in the world, in a dark alley...
"..."
"...Huh?"
...ended in the most absurd way possible, with the giant casually turning his back.
"Uh... excuse me?"
"What is it."
"You just suddenly turned around... what are you doing...?"
"My business here is finished, so I'm leaving."
"Eh?!"
Despite my confusion, the giant vanished in the blink of an eye.
"...What was that."
My voice echoed forlornly through the dark alley.
*
A huge man walked down the street.
With a frame impossible to miss, he drew everyone's attention without fail.
The emotions in those gazes were varied.
Primitive fear at a creature larger than themselves.
Anxiety born from the bizarre things he had done until now.
Jealousy of his strength and skill.
But above all those feelings were respect and awe.
The strongest in Orario.
Lv. 8, Maxim.
Nothing could surpass those two emotions when faced with the strongest creature in the world.
That should have been the case... and yet.
"Hm."
"[You seem to be in a good mood, dear.]"
Even at the voice that reached him, the man did not panic.
He had known all along that she had been following him.
In fact, he was more surprised that she had managed not to show herself until now.
Given her personality, that alone was surprising enough to count five times over.
"[Tch, so you knew after all... Well, that other guy seemed to notice too.]"
Had he stared too hard? Though her voice was grumbling, the amusement in it was impossible to hide.
"Come out."
"[Oh my, you really wanted to see me that badly?]"
The air rippled, and a woman appeared beside the man.
She had healthy, vibrant brown skin and a tall figure for a woman.
Wearing a flashy outfit that showed plenty of skin, she stood out in a different way from the man.
The highest-level existence in Orario.
The Lv. 9 Empress.
"Why did you follow me?"
"Because I was following my husband, of course."
"Who's your husband?"
Even when he frowned and glared at her, the woman only hummed without so much as twitching an eyebrow.
It was the usual routine, so he let out a sigh and moved on. He didn't want to ruin his mood over something like this right now.
The woman seemed to understand and gave a soft laugh, saying nothing more.
And so the two of them walked side by side toward their home.
Then, suddenly, the woman spoke.
"So? How did it go?"
"You saw it. Why ask?"
"I just want to hear it from you directly."
At that, Maxim glanced at the Empress, then kept walking as he replied.
"Passed."
"Ah~ I knew it."
The woman nodded as if she had expected as much.
But Maxim's expression was far from refreshed.
"Then tell our old hag it was just an old man's stunt and—what's wrong?"
"...No."
Even as he said that, Maxim's confusion did not fade. If anything, it deepened.
And the Empress was not someone who would fail to notice that.
"What is it? If it's important, say it now. Don't screw it up later because you kept your mouth shut."
"...You're unusually cautious."
"Well, the situation is what it is."
Yes, the situation was the problem.
They had mobilized capital, resources, and manpower to achieve humanity's long-cherished wish.
This quest could not fail, and must not fail.
A strongman who had suddenly appeared was truly troublesome.
So the two captains had gone out in pursuit.
To reduce losses and variables as much as possible.
To put it bluntly, to make sure the intruder was killed.
He had asked why there was any reason to keep him alive, but in truth, Maxim had intended to kill the intruder from the start.
The reason he had asked at all was to extract information and reduce the chance of making a mistake.
The god had said he didn't know, but the man might have been connected to that god somehow, so he had been cautious to the extreme.
And that suspicion had been half right.
*There does seem to be some connection.*
The first time he saw the adventurer, he sensed the familiar scent of that old man.
That old man was definitely involved somehow. The problem was how.
*I have no clue at all.*
He was a notoriously elusive old man, so it wasn't as though he had him completely figured out. Still, most of his actions were carried out through the male god Hermes, which meant some information could be inferred.
And based on that information, no matter how he thought about it, he could not identify the man's existence.
Besides, Hermes was currently out trying to seduce some princess from an island nation.
*He said he was thirty-two...*
He looked far too young for that, but it somehow didn't feel like a lie.
More than that, it was easy to tell he was the sort of person who was bad at lying. The fact that he couldn't even make an excuse in response to the question was proof enough.
Lying to survive was easy enough. But even in the face of death, he could not bring himself to speak a falsehood. Instead, he had met his eyes boldly and even issued a warning.
*His eyes...*
Yes, those eyes were the problem. That gaze would not leave his mind.
How much had the old man interfered? What kind of relationship did they have? Was he an ally or an enemy? If he was an ally, why hide his identity? If an enemy, what was his purpose?
There were too many things to think about, but the only thing that kept coming to mind was those red eyes.
Red eyes. Cranel had eyes like that, didn't he? Was that why he was so bothered?
"Still, he was an innocent one. A child who didn't know the ways of the world, I suppose. Not that I dislike that."
Those words finally made Maxim understand why he had been so fixated on him.
Innocent? Didn't know the world?
Impossible. Those eyes were not the eyes of someone like that.
He was clearly a child. His wish was a purity untouched by grime.
But was that really possible because he knew nothing of the world?
If it had been anyone else, he would have said yes. In fact, it could not have been otherwise.
Children all become adults. They come to understand reality, put away their ideals, and adults pat them on the shoulder while saying they've grown up, but in the end, they have simply compromised with the world.
This won't do because of this. That won't do because of that.
The ideals that moved them in childhood are crushed before reality, and before long, they become adults who value reality over ideals.
They comfort themselves by dressing up ideals that have surrendered to reality with the word "mature."
Whether they want to or not.
In the end, before reality, there are only two outcomes: bend or break.
But here, a new variable had appeared.
Someone had arrived at the end without bending or breaking, still preserving that pure white self.
Someone who had accomplished as a matter of course what even Maxim and the Empress had deemed impossible.
A being who could truly be called a hero had appeared.
"I see. So that was it."
"Hm? What was?"
"No, nothing."
The question that had been weighing on him was resolved.
What he had believed to be an unchanging truth had been smashed to pieces before his eyes, and it felt wonderfully refreshing.
Without realizing it, he smiled.
The Empress was startled when she saw it.
They had been together since he was Lv. 1, but she had almost never seen him smile.
Much less smile like that for no reason at all.
*So you were happy to have me around, huh?*
Acting all aloof, but in the end, you liked it after all.
The Empress smiled along with him.
Even after all the years they had spent together, the two of them still did not truly understand each other.