I Picked Up the Hero Who Banished Me

24 – [The Hero and I – 09]

“Oh, it seems like a nice day today.”

“…….”

“…….”

A leisurely afternoon.

Maybe it was the warm weather, but even the people passing by seemed to be walking with a certain ease. On such an afternoon, we had decided to have a meal at a restaurant.

The hero wasn’t yet in a condition to simply eat a regular meal, and it wasn’t good for him to eat the rather stimulating food coming from the restaurant.

Considering the hero’s strength and survivability, it wasn’t like he’d die or suddenly worsen if he ate it, but it would undoubtedly take him longer to recover.

That’s why I decided I’d just eat the half-elf sitting across from me, and after we naturally ordered, ate our meal, me and the hero waited for the half-elf to speak, but their first words were about how nice the weather was.

“Hey, you said you had something to say…!!”

The hero spoke in a low voice, sounding slightly angry.

It was touching how hard they were trying to hold back.

In the past, there was a good chance they would’ve already grabbed them by the collar while yelling.

Besides, this was a journey to save the hero’s life, so even the strongest person would feel a little impatient in the face of their own death, it was only natural.

Frankly, there was no need to listen to what they had to say, but the hero had said that since we were eating, we might as well hear them out.

If the hero, of all people, said that, I had no intention of refusing.

This journey wasn’t one to save my life, but rather one to save the hero’s.

“I’m sorry, I was nervous. I’m Silphy. I don’t have a last name, just Silphy.”

“Okay, Silphy. I’m Riviah, and this is Royce. Why did you call us here? What is it you wanted to talk about?”

“I know it’s rude, but I saw you fighting on the ship earlier.”

“So it was you, huh. You’re pretty skilled.”

“No, I’ve just been good at hiding since way back.”

So they have concealment skills.

Like I said, in this world, to become top-tier you have to be talented *and* work hard, and those without talent usually aren’t even given a chance to reach the top.

That’s generally the case, and while it’s not entirely impossible, it’s mostly impossible.

Among the various skills, there are those where talent has a huge impact; spirit magic is one of them, and so are concealment skills.

It’s like creating a barrier around yourself that makes it impossible to be seen and hides your presence to the extreme, so assassins often master it.

Of course, it requires a natural disposition, so not even all assassins possess it.

It was simply that they were extremely well-suited for the job of an assassin.

Or, some might use it to hide from dangerous monsters while gathering rare and poisonous herbs.

If one wanted to use it for good, there were countless ways, but in the current world, it was infamous as a skill perfect for assassins, and therefore, it wasn’t highly regarded.

That’s why they’re hesitating, I guess.

Because they don’t know how they’ll be treated if they say it.

“Amazing! A stealth skill! There are so few people who can use that!”

“……Ah, yes! I haven’t seen anyone besides me who can use it either!”

“Right! I’ve only seen a handful of people who could use it during my travels!”

Pure admiration.

For Olivia Reinhardt, the good or evil of power didn’t matter.

For her, even the power of a grim reaper was good if used for righteous purposes.

For her, even the power of a goddess was evil if used for evil deeds.

She believes it’s not the power that’s bad but the person who uses it, and there’s no reason for the hero to harbor bad feelings towards Silphy, who hasn’t done anything bad yet.

Well, that’s just what we know, we aren’t sure if she’s never actually used it for anything bad.

“Oh, sorry. Please, continue your story.”

“Yes…. I’m from Half Village.”

“Half Village?”

“It’s a village where, literally, half-humans live. The discrimination against half-humans has been severe in the past, and especially against half-elves… no, um.”

Should I even say this?

“Especially, half-elves… What were you saying?”

The Hero looked at me, and I glanced towards Sylphy for a moment.

Sylphy gave an awkward smile, as if she’d judged from my expression that I was someone with a good grasp of history.

“You like history, I see.”

“Most people live without knowing any of it.”

“You can speak freely.”

“Okay.”

Elves were a prime example of long-lived races, possessing the longest lifespans among humans.

Which meant Sylphy, a half-elf, also had a considerably long lifespan.

Though she looked my age or even younger, her actual age combined with the Hero’s wouldn’t even be enough.

“You know about the war between humans and elves in the past, right?”

“Yeah.”

“The exact cause wasn’t clearly established. In human records, it’s written that the war began due to the elves’ fault, while in elf records, it’s written that it was the humans’ fault.”

“……”

“After a major war, a cold war ensued under the name of a temporary truce, and all the elves who were alive during the war era died, except for one. No matter what, the elves were outnumbered, and they inevitably had to reach beyond the truce to grasp each other’s hands for peace.”

“Yes. That was the moment elves began officially entering human society. Before that, there were people who treated elves like monsters.”

“I see. But what does that have to do with discrimination against half-elves?”

Talking about this directly in front of a half-elf felt a little wrong, but it was better than having her hear it from someone else later.

“There was a war, a truce, right? And it took time to hold hands and end the war.”

“Right.”

“Around that time, elf slaves were common.”

“……!”

The hero’s eyes widened.

Though slavery was completely abolished now, there was a time when it was common sense, an era where humans enslaving humans was commonplace.

“Especially elves, they maintained their youth for a long time regardless of gender, and they fit the human standards of beauty.”

“No way.”

“They were enslaved and raped to birth a large number of half-elves.”

“B-But the environment was awful, wasn’t it? Not to say anything, but it wasn’t suitable for birth. Considering the terrible conditions of slavery…!”

“Elves have strong vitality, you see. That doesn’t change, even for babies. And even as slaves, they shouldn’t be treated *too* harshly.”

Well, you might think, ‘They’re my slaves, why can’t I treat them harshly?’, but slaves were basically objects.

Don’t you get a bad impression of people who mistreat objects?

That’s why, at least in public, they’d try to appear like ordinary people in a superior/inferior relationship. Only the cold, iron chain around their necks would reveal they were slaves.

Besides, they were legally required to provide food, clothing, and shelter.

It was better treatment than what many would conceptually imagine. Though, of course, it wasn’t *good*, as it was still the treatment of slaves.

“There was a time when half-elves were created in large numbers like that. Among humans, they were oppressed as being lesser, and among elves, they were tormented as a symbol of hatred.”

*Kachik!*

“Oh, um…!”

Sylphy stopped talking, her mouth clamped shut.

It was the sound of the hero snapping the spoon he was holding.

It was a mystery why he was even holding it when he wasn’t eating, and more than anything, if he broke that, I would have to pay for it.

But I didn’t feel like arguing about it.

The hero’s expression was fierce.

“Livia, you’re not going to get angry at her, are you?”

“No! …No, sorry. …I really only ever swung a sword, so I don’t know these things very well.”

“It’s okay. It makes me happy to see you this angry.”

“Humans are humans, but elves too…!! Even if their kin were forced to give birth, the child born has no sin! But they hated you? Are all elves like that!?”

“Livia.”

“…!”

My voice had gotten too loud, so I put a finger to my lips, and the hero crumpled again, bowing his head.

Luckily, it was a quiet time, and there was no one on the second floor, but the sound probably echoed downstairs.

“B-But, the war ended a while ago now, right? Maybe they’d accept elves now?”

“It will be difficult.”

“Why?”

The hero looked at me, and I took a drink of water before speaking.

“Earlier I said that there was only one elf left who knew about the time of the war when it ended, right?”

“That’s right.”

“That elf is the current Titania, that is… the elven queen. I’ve never met her myself, but from what I’ve heard, she’s the one at the center of the hostility towards half-elves. She said, ‘I won’t throw rocks at you directly, but you better not show yourselves in front of me.'”

“You’re very knowledgeable. Those are the kind of words you’d only find in an elf history book.”

“I do like books a bit.”

It’s a mystery why that Titania is still alive.

She should’ve reached the end of an elf’s lifespan a long time ago, yet somehow she’s still alive.

It was as if time had stopped for her alone.

“How… to be… not only born without blessing, but to be hated for it, as if being born itself is a sin… is this… right?”

The Hero seemed to be speaking honestly, but in Silphi’s eyes, genuine goodwill was clear.

That frightened look from before was probably from being scared of the Hero’s power, but through their conversation, it seemed she had become convinced that, even if somewhat quick-tempered, he wasn’t a bad person.

“That hag…”

“Hag?”

“No, haha! Nevermind!”

For the record, the Hero had been to Elven Heim, and since he went as a Hero, he must have met Titania.

To call her that hag, it’s possible he didn’t have a good impression of her?

Or perhaps he did, but it was gone now?

“Even so, I can’t accept it… a child that’s born has done nothing wrong, has it?”

“People don’t always make rational choices.”

“…”

“Some do it because of trauma, others because of greed, and still others because of affection… Many make wrong choices. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has things they regret. Even you, Lybia-ssi, you must have them, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“In those cases, people then choose whether to admit their mistakes and try not to repeat them, or fall into self-justification saying they did nothing wrong… or they might choose somewhere in between.”

“I see… then that Titania, is she making the wrong choice? Does she regret it? Is she seeking a chance to fix it?”

“I don’t know. You can’t know unless you meet her in person.”

From the rumors, she was said to be rather strict, but not a bad queen, but indeed, you couldn’t get the answer without meeting her directly.

She could only hope that at least her wisdom was still intact.

“I had a new chance with you. But, what about him…? Yeah, I really need to talk to him face to face.”

“I’m relieved. You didn’t draw your sword and call him a villain just from hearing the story.”

“When would I ever…? I mean, I’ve done enough to warrant that kind of reaction.”

“Even so, I’m glad you’re still you, Livia.”

“Well, who else would I be?”

“I guess.”

“Huh? Did we actually have a conversation? Are we talking now?”

Even after everything she’d been through, she was still so human, and after overcoming it all, she seemed to shine even brighter.

That’s not an easy thing.

That level of betrayal.

To have your entire life denied, and yet she could still get angry about others’ circumstances, empathize with Silphy she’d just met, and shout about the unfairness of it all.

“…Ah, sorry. We were talking amongst ourselves.”

“N-No problem!… Um, are you two, like, lovers?”

“Huh?”

“…!”

A new emotion flickered in the hero’s eyes, previously ablaze with anger.

“Yeah!”

“You’re not.”

“We’re going to be!”

“…….”

“Ah, ahahaha… It’s nice to see you have such a long-standing connection.”

“….You, you’ve got an eye for things, huh?”

It was hard to believe this was the same person who was just a moment ago gritting their teeth in anger.

The way their emotions shifted was still lightning fast, and if you looked at it positively, it meant they could quickly forget their anger and enjoy the next thing.

“Ahem, so it’s called Half Village, was it? Is that a village of half-elves?”

“There are a lot of half-elves, for sure. But there are other halves too. Half-dragonkin, half-dwarves, things like that.”

“Discrimination against half-breeds has decreased a lot recently, but there are still people who do it. It’s easy to get discriminated against by both sides, so it’s definitely a hard world for half-breeds to live in.”

“Yeah…”

Of course, outwardly, there are more people who believe that such discrimination shouldn’t be done.

But the voice of one person without morals is louder than 100 people with them.

There are many who spew one-sided hatred and enjoy their superiority by hurling insults, and even if you’re surrounded by good people, it’s common to suffer a wound that doesn’t disappear from a single bad word.

Especially when you’re discriminated against for a race you can’t change, there’s probably nothing more heartbreaking.

“So what’s the problem there?”

“The Death God Cult.”

“Whoa, those goddamn fanatics. They’re still alive?”

“Livia, please try to rephrase.”

The Hero pondered for a moment, then changed his words.

“Wow, those magnificent people who commit evil deeds and still borrow the name of god! Why haven’t they gone to the side of the Death God yet?”

Using polite language alone doesn’t cut it.

Well, whatever.

They *are* the kind to deserve that treatment, though.