Chapter 228: Hero Party – The Beginning of the Journey (2)

The hero party’s journey was smooth.

They received a lavish welcome in the first village they visited, and it was the same thereafter. And this situation was expected to remain largely the same until they left the Holy Kingdom. 99.99% of the population of the Holy Kingdom were followers of the Goddess. To them, the hero was another representative of the Goddess, second only to the Pope and the Saintess.

Naturally, as these events continued, Jinhyuk’s confidence and pride grew day by day. In contrast, the others did not change much.

Valdes, Vilma, Arsha, and Fiora calmly accepted the people’s welcome and hospitality.

And Yuri and Sasha, because of them, further ignited their pride and sense of duty as the hero party. With the thought of giving back as much as they received, they voluntarily exterminated monsters around them and cleared dangerous areas.

Fiora had subtly encouraged them in this aspect. It was natural since it was part of the purpose of the Papacy’s tour of the heroes.

“Haa, Lord Valdes.”

“What?”

“I can’t believe it’s only been a week…”

Valdes chuckled at Vilma’s whiny sigh.

“It’s not a bad life, is it?”

“Not really… I don’t have time to research magic, and I don’t really like this kind of treatment.”

Vilma’s true identity was Vilhelmina, the first princess of the Dezak Empire. She had received more than the hero party had, countless times, so she was rather tired of it. On the other hand, she couldn’t concentrate on magic research as she did when she was in the dungeon.

“Maybe it would have been better to stay in the dungeon…”

“That’s not possible. Helping me is a clear contractual obligation.”

“Ugh…”

“But you seem to have gotten along pretty well.”

“Hehe, everyone is so nice.”

She smiled like a fool.

It was a similar smile to the one he had seen a few times when she was with Irena. Referring to the memories of that time, it seemed that she liked the women of the hero party quite a bit. It wasn’t that she had become friends with everyone, but since there were only a few people, there wasn’t much difference.

In particular, Yuri, Sasha, and Fiora easily accepted Vilma into their circle. Moreover, for young women in their early 20s who had just become friends, there was no end to the topics of conversation. Thanks to this, time passed slowly for Vilma, but it wasn’t boring.

“How about Kang Jinhyuk?”

At Valdes’s question, Vilma frowned.

“Ah, that hero is such a jerk!”

Valdes was intrigued by her horrified and disgusted appearance. It wasn’t often that she, who had a foolish and naive side, would criticize someone like this. It hadn’t been long since he had met her, but he couldn’t help but be curious.

“What is it?”

“You have no idea how many women he flirts with in every village we visit!”

“Ah, that.”

However, he nodded and made a disappointed expression at her words.

To find weaknesses or things to exploit, he was always keeping an eye on the other members of the hero party. Of course, it was done discreetly without being obvious. Since there were only four people excluding Sasha and Vilma, it wasn’t that hard to do.

Because of this, he knew how pathetic and showy Jinhyuk was.

“Still, he’s trying to do it secretly.”

“How could you not notice?”

“Hmm, Yuri and Sasha don’t seem to know.”

“…The other two do.”

“Those two are also quick-witted and observant.”

“Ugh, anyway!”

Valdes looked at Vilma, who was puzzled and grumbling.

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

“Kang Jinhyuk is a bit pathetic, but… isn’t this a bit much to call him a jerk?”

“……”

“Why are you suddenly lowering your head?”

“B, but…”

“But?”

“He doesn’t hit on me at all!”

Valdes burst into laughter at her shout of injustice. Her face was slightly flushed, showing that she was really angry. Valdes made a face that showed he didn’t understand her absurd statement.

“Are you interested in that guy?”

“Of course not! Not at all!”

“……”

“Really! It’s just… it’s unfair that he shows interest in village girls but not in a beautiful woman like me… A, and… if he tried to hit on me, I was going to use that as a weakness and report it to you, Lord Valdes…”

“Hahaha!”

He suddenly burst out laughing.

No matter how many times he thought about it, she was a really interesting princess.

“Well, that’s true. He has a brain, so he wouldn’t try to seduce a party member within a week of meeting them.”

“Hmm… T, that’s true…”

“And from what I’ve seen, his first target seems to be Sasha.”

“What? Lady Sasha?”

Valdes nodded slightly.

And just as he was about to continue, there was a knock on the door and someone’s voice was heard.

Knock, knock.

“Are you two in there? Vilma? Valdes?”

It was Sasha.

Valdes and Vilma quickly exchanged glances, naturally got up, and opened the door.

“Ah, you two were together.”

“Yeah, but what’s up?”

“We’re going to have a small party.”

“A party?”

She tilted her head. It was quite a sudden remark.

It wasn’t a party hosted by the owner of the mansion to welcome them. They had already been treated to a grand welcome dinner in the evening, and the owner of the mansion, a nobleman, was away due to circumstances. In fact, this was rude to the guests, but since they hadn’t visited with an appointment, they couldn’t blame the nobleman.

“Yeah. Just us, so we can eat and enjoy ourselves comfortably!”

“Ah.”

Only then did Vilma nod.

Until now, whenever they visited a village or a noble’s mansion, the village chief, villagers, or the noble of the mansion were always present. And when they camped out, they had to eat lightly and stand guard, so there was no time to enjoy drinking and singing.

Even without those things, they had become close through many conversations over the past week, but there was nothing like alcohol and a party to deepen the relationship. Even if the party was just seven people enjoying a simple late-night snack and drinks, Vilma was in favor.

“I’m in.”

Valdes, who suddenly appeared from behind Vilma, also spoke.

“Me too.”

“Then let’s all go down. The people at the mansion have prepared everything!”

Sasha shouted brightly.

Valdes laughed at the fact that everything was ready before he was even asked. Of course, there was no reason to refuse, but it was cute that Sasha had finished everything thinking that they would attend.

“Let’s all go down!”

Sasha played a key role in the hero party.

She was the mood maker.

Even Arsha, who was quiet and the most prickly, liked her. Thanks to this, Valdes was relieved in many ways.

If Ethylene had come in her place as originally planned, he was sorry for her, but the overall atmosphere of the party would have been dampened. And to make up for it, Valdes would have had to boost the mood in many ways, which would have been tiring and would have made Jinhyuk much more wary of him.

‘Honestly, I’m really glad…’

When they came out of the room, they saw Jinhyuk leaning against the wall, slightly hidden.

He looked at Vilma and Valdes, taking his back off the wall.

“Come to think of it, you two are often together?”

“Ah, that’s…”

“Yeah, I asked him to. I hate to say it, but… as a black mage, I’m interested in demon-human hybrids in many ways. Hehe.”

“Ah.”

At Vilma’s words, Sasha and Jinhyuk looked at Valdes with slightly embarrassed expressions.

In fact, the topic of hybrids was an unspoken taboo among the six, excluding Valdes. No one had brought it up, but it was a very sensitive topic. They all had their quirks, but none of them had bad personalities.

At their reactions, Valdes laughed it off as if it were nothing.

“I’m fine.”

“R, really?”

“Honestly, I’m used to it… I can’t say I’m proud of my bloodline, but I don’t think I should deny it desperately.”

“Wow…”

With Sasha’s admiration and Jinhyuk’s slight frown, the two headed to the second-floor banquet hall.

The late-night party planned by Sasha for the hero party was a success.

Thanks to the owner of the mansion’s request to treat them with the utmost care before he left in a hurry, there was no shortage of food or drinks. The servants worked with bright smiles without frowning or complaining even though it was past 10 p.m.

Although it was a party with alcohol, there were no fights among the group. Everyone refrained from overdrinking and enjoyed the food, conversation, and the atmosphere itself rather than the alcohol.

It was a bit disappointing for Valdes. If Jinhyuk had gotten carried away and made a mistake while drinking, it would have been a good opportunity.

It was also a little surprising. From what he had seen of the hero in the few days, it seemed quite possible. But he drank and ate moderately, was kind to the servants, and actively participated in the conversation.

‘Is he planning to have an appointment later? …No, it can’t be that kind of appointment, right?’

Shaking his head to clear the sudden thought, Valdes took a sip of juice and looked around.

Everyone was laughing and chatting in a pleasant atmosphere.

Even he, who was planning to overturn the hero party in many ways, felt his mood lift.

When he slightly turned his head to the side, Vilma was also smiling happily. He had been worried that she might regret or struggle with joining the hero party, but it was a good thing.

The next person he looked at was Arsha.

There was a smile on her lips, but rather than actively participating in the conversation, she was quietly listening to the stories and sipping her drink, the female warrior of the desert tribe.

After receiving the investigation report on her two days ago, Arsha looked completely different. It wasn’t in a negative way. It meant that she would be a great help in achieving his goal. Of course, it wasn’t closely related to the hero party, so there was no problem in taking it slow and focusing less on her.

‘So the first woman I need to capture is…’

“Well then, since it’s so late, let’s call it a night.”

Jinhyuk’s declaration to end the party cut off Valdes’s thoughts.

“Ah, that’s a shame…”

“If we sleep too late, it will be hard to leave tomorrow, so let’s get up.”

“……”

Yuri, who was excited from drinking, was disappointed, but Sasha was right. They had to get up early tomorrow morning and leave the mansion to head to the capital of the Holy Kingdom, so they needed to break up the party moderately.

Valdes was surprised that it was Jinhyuk who did it, not Sasha or Fiora, but he let it go. He was still a hero, so he must have some sense of responsibility and leadership.

While Sasha and Vilma were supporting Yuri, Arsha had already gotten up and disappeared. Jinhyuk was also gone. Valdes approached the woman he had decided to target first and said.

“I’ll help too, Lady Fiora.”

“Ah… would you?”

“I may be young, but I’m a hybrid and a knight.”

Valdes slightly rolled up his sleeves and showed his well-trained forearms. Then Fiora smiled slightly.

“I see. Then let’s clean up together.”

Soon, the two smiled at the servants who refused their help and apologized, and helped them clean up the banquet hall.

The person Valdes became closest to during the week was not Jinhyuk, a man who shared the same tent with him, but Fiora. It wasn’t that he deliberately distanced himself from the hero, but rather that Jinhyuk kept a slight distance from Valdes.

On the other hand, Fiora skillfully took care of many things for the group, and Valdes, claiming to be the youngest, volunteered to take on the dirty work, increasing his connection with Fiora. Fiora also had a good personality, and thanks to the memory of him helping her, they were able to become close quickly.

After finishing the cleaning, the two returned to the guest rooms together.

As they were about to go up the stairs, Fiora, who had been fidgeting, spoke to Valdes.

“Um, Valdes.”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry, but can you go ahead? I need to… stop by somewhere for a moment.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

After apologizing to him once again, Fiora hurried off somewhere. Valdes realized that she was heading towards Jinhyuk’s room.

The twin heroes had rooms on the third floor of the mansion.

“Hmm, I don’t know what it is, but should I wait for a bit?”

Valdes moderately concealed his body with magic and hid behind a large decoration nearby. Soon, Fiora appeared, her shoulders drooping with exhaustion. She didn’t go back to her room, but headed downstairs.

‘Did they fight again? Or… could it be?’

He carefully followed Fiora.

It wasn’t that he had properly concealed his presence, so if Fiora had been paying attention, she would have noticed him, but she walked towards the garden without any energy.

And she slumped down on a bench in a corner of the garden.

“Haa…”

“……”

Valdes, who hid nearby, expanded his senses to check if anyone was around. Whether the guards were lazy or it was just after their patrol, there was no sign of anyone else in the garden besides them.

Valdes smiled quietly at the unexpected opportunity.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, he got up and approached Fiora.

To extend his evil hand to the hero’s lover.