The Hero Who Returned From Death Quits

5 – EP1. Dawn Approaches

The sky was unusually blue.

However, to some, it felt as if it was not a blessing from the sky, but rather mocking them.

Beatrice was one of those few. After hearing that she had been defeated in the war and even the hero had become corrupt, she had no motivation to do anything and only accumulated annoyance.

Tying up her silver hair, she bit her lips.

It was time for Peria, her… former companion, to return.

In the holy place where the saint resided, there were also Sain Ludan, her former companion, and Princess Lena Tirenthos.

They were all filled with anger and stress.

Soon, it would be time for Peria to decipher the whereabouts of the hero recorded in the fragments of the holy sword that she had barely managed to collect.

They did not want the betrayal of humanity, and especially their betrayer, to end with just exile.

The sense of betrayal towards the hero, whom they believed to be noble, was great, and they were obsessed with finding out when the witch Grandis had approached the hero.

And finally, a woman with hair as blue as the sea and sapphire eyes arrived.

“I’m here.”

“Yes, you’ve arrived. Sain and Lena were waiting too.”

“Yeah. But deciphering the records of the holy sword is going to take quite some time since it’s so extensive. Instead, I’ve decoded it into a video, so it’ll be easier to see what happened.”

“Yes, there’s no other choice.”

The holy sword was more like a massive circuit in the shape of a sword rather than an actual sword. Besides Peria, there was no one else who could interpret the records within it.

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No, to be precise, besides Peria and the witch Grandis, there was no one else.

Sain spoke to Peria.

“Well, there’s no way around it taking time. So, keep working.”

Pshik, Peria laughed. When feeling down, it was necessary to be able to laugh at even unfunny jokes.

“Come on, let’s see it quickly. I need to know what that disgusting bastard, who even laughed when he was expelled, was hiding. For the sake of our sacrificed elites.”

“Alright.”

When Lena urged her, Peria placed the crystal ball on the table, and soon the crystal ball started emitting light and projecting an image on the wall.

…

A young boy in plain attire stumbled out of the carriage. Except for his decent face, the boy with black hair and black eyes had nothing remarkable about him. Except for the sword he carried by his side.

A sigh escaped the boy’s lips.

“Ugh… me, a hero? What is this… I just came to the Empire blindly to achieve success, but me, a hero… Can I even do it…?”

The boy was from a small rural village in a small country, far from any great lineage or shining talent.

The boy caught a glimpse of the sword within reach if he just reached out his hand. The fact that the sword, forged by the gods themselves, became his own was no joke, no matter how much he thought about it.

And it was only when the boy heard a man’s voice from outside the carriage that he finally felt a sense of reality.

“We will be arriving at the holy land soon.”

The holy land. The land where the saint resides. The most sacred soil.

Descriptions of the holy land flickered through his mind, and he finally began to worry about the future that lay ahead, clenching his teeth firmly.

What should I do if the saint looks at me and says, “This person is not the hero I’ve been searching for”? No, maybe it would’ve been better to just live as a hero and face a battlefield filled with fights that he had never experienced before.

As he lamented and worried within his heart, the carriage suddenly came to a halt.

“Damn it!”

“What the hell is that bastard!”

And then, screams could be heard from outside.

He stretched his head out of the window.

A massive figure with a chaotic build was wielding a club, slaughtering the soldiers who were escorting him.

And as soon as he realized that the club was aimed at the carriage, he quickly got off the carriage.

It was an ogre. Among the humanoid monsters that used tools, the most powerful monster was unbelievably large, bulky, and fearsome.

He barely held a sword in his hand.

… It was a terrible misfortune to be facing an ogre as his first opponent as a hero.

However, secretly, he thought that becoming a hero meant that he was special. It was simply unjust that someone planning to defeat the demon lord as a hero would fall to just one ogre.

Yes, maybe he had hidden talents within himself.

With baseless confidence that he would be safe, or rather, because he couldn’t sustain himself without such belief in the face of fear, he charged towards the ogre,

and the ogre’s club struck his head with a dull thud.

In an instant, his agony vanished, and his brain matter splattered.

His body twisted, coming to a sudden stop like a puppet with its strings cut.

That’s how he died.

…

“What did I see?”

Amidst the silence, a shaky voice came from the crimson peacock.

According to the records, he was known to have defeated the ogre in the first battle and arrived at the sacred site. And in perfect condition, too. So, what on earth is happening?

The women kept their mouths shut and maintained their silence.

The records clearly stated that the hero had died. But the hero was not dead. It made no sense for someone who had defeated the Demon King and was banished to still be alive.

Regardless, the video continued to play.

…

With a gasp, the boy opened his eyes. The scenery inside the carriage came into view.

He tried to convince himself that what had just happened was a dream. Even though his head still throbbed.

Then he heard a voice from outside.

“We will be arriving at the sacred site soon.”

Suddenly, he began to feel anxious. Something was wrong, he thought.

And then, screams could be heard from outside.

The ogre appeared right before his eyes.

As soon as he regained his senses, he started running away. The only thought in his mind was that he couldn’t win.

Unfortunately, the ogre was much faster.

He died.

He opened his eyes. It was the scenery inside the carriage.

Something was definitely wrong, but he realized he couldn’t escape.

He tightly gripped the sword in his hand.

And then, the ogre started to come into view.

He dodged the ogre’s club by rolling his body once.

But as the ogre’s club swung again, his arm and ribs broke too easily.

Next, he was struck by the ogre’s club once again.

He died.

After avoiding the ogre’s downward strike, he approached the creature’s body and stabbed it with his sword. However, due to the ogre’s thick skin, the attack did not hit any vital areas, and he was captured by the ogre.

He died.

He died.

He died.

He died…

And finally, when the ogre’s body was covered in wounds and he collapsed from massive bleeding, he thrust the Holy Sword into the ogre’s heart.

He became a hero at last.

…

“Ugh.”

Even Lena, who had the weakest stomach, retched. After spending several years on the battlefield, even they couldn’t help but harden their expressions when they saw how vividly a human could die in various ways, spraying blood and brains.

Hero, Ainz Leonhardt, had a unique ability.

No one knew about his ability.

“This is…”

Beatrice tried to say something but couldn’t continue.

A hero’s ability being the power to go back in time after death? Does that even make sense?

However, they had already seen that incredible ability through the records of the Holy Sword.

They couldn’t look away anymore.

“Seriously…”

How many times did the hero die? Sane swallowed her words, unable to speak, and her colleagues were the same.

Each of them had questions and things to say.

But they couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

“Well, for now, since the hero’s charges haven’t been cleared, I’ll continue the decryption.”

Peria said. And the others just nodded without saying a word.

Sane recalled a conversation she had with the hero, Ainz Leonhardt, some time ago.

“Hey, what will you do after you kill the Demon Lord? You’ll probably want to escape from this tiresome fight and regain your everyday life, right?”

At the beginning of their journey, Ainz had poured out countless memories of his hometown, and Sane naturally thought that Ainz would say that, so she brought it up.

And Ainz hesitated and scratched his chin, unable to answer right away.

“Well…”

After thinking for a long time, he said this.

“I wonder if I can really regain an everyday life.”

Why did his answer, expression, and gaze from that day haunt her thoughts like this?

Sane couldn’t figure it out.