A Ghost Joined The Party (1)

The town’s name was Toritas.

It was close to the royal capital. Not a large town, but apparently it was an agricultural region.

It must have been prosperous—the buildings were big, one after another.

For a town of its size, the population was high, probably because it was safe and easy to live in.

Which made sense.

Being close to the capital meant that if something happened, support from the kingdom would arrive quickly.

Even if fighting with the Demon King’s army intensified, this town would only be attacked at the same time as the capital.

That was why this commander-level assault was completely unexpected.

The tragedy that brought panic and terror… was resolved by the Hero’s party.

So what happened next?

Obviously—

“Long live the Hero!”

“Long live!”

As you can see.

The entire town turned into a festival.

Every restaurant was opened up and offered as a venue.

The townspeople all pitched in—cooking, decorating—until the place instantly felt like a summer festival.

Everyone ate and laughed, celebrating their survival.

“This is delicious!”

“Please eat as much as you like. There’s more, you know?”

“Really?”

“Of course! You are heroes! Tonight, please enjoy yourselves without worrying about us at all!”

“Yay!”

The one partying the hardest was Arka.

He was bright and energetic to begin with, so he probably loved this kind of thing.

He devoured dish after dish.

The elders watched in amazement.

Seriously… where does all that food even go in that tiny body?

“Saint, thank you for healing my son’s injuries.”

“No thanks are necessary. Even one more person living in peace, despite their pain—our Lord desires such a world. I am a saint who embodies the Lord’s will.”

“Oh… the Saint is truly great.”

“Yeah. She must be the one most blessed by the Goddess.”

Semirena, the Saint, used the power of prayer to treat the townspeople injured in the напад.

Thanks to her, there were no lingering injured from the battle.

She even healed my wounds and Arka’s.

Even though she had to be exhausted herself, she didn’t show fatigue for a second as she continued healing—she really looked like a saint.

I should thank her properly later.

And of course, the Princess was wildly popular too.

“To meet the Princess of the Etoile Kingdom—what an honor.”

“You’re even more beautiful than the rumors said.”

“Thank you. I, too, am fortunate to have met all of you.”

“What a gracious blessing!”

“She’s like a goddess…”

Erika smiled with poise.

She was in front of the people.

So naturally, she was in “proper princess” mode.

Especially the town’s young men—they gathered around her in droves.

I got it.

You don’t get chances to see a princess up close.

From my perspective—knowing what she’s really like—it was pretty ridiculous…

But they looked happy, so I decided to leave it alone.

So, yeah.

After we defended Toritas from the Demon King’s commander, Barbatos, we were being treated like heroes.

“Hero! Show us that thing! The shing—slash you did!”

“Uh—well, that’s a secret technique only shown to evil. I can’t show it right now.”

“Ehhh! I wanna see! It was so cool!”

“Hey! Don’t bother the Hero!”

A mother scolded the child.

Then she bowed.

“I’m very sorry, Hero. My son caused you trouble.”

“No, it’s fine. He’s just a kid.”

“Thank you. After seeing your valor, he’s become a huge fan.”

“I-is that so…”

The little boy’s eyes sparkled.

The mother thanked me again and again.

More children and parents gathered, one after another, pouring out their gratitude.

“As expected of the Hero! To defeat a Demon King commander in a single strike…”

“I just got lucky.”

“Oh, no. Barbatos has repeatedly annihilated knight orders at the front lines. Countless towns and villages have been trampled by him… If you weren’t here, our town would have been destroyed.”

No.

That’s not it.

He came to kill us.

If we hadn’t fled and teleported here, he might never have come to this town at all.

“To see the Hero’s holy sword with my own eyes! Such an honor!”

“Haha…”

It’s not a holy sword.

It’s a cursed blade I bought online for about ten thousand yen.

“With you here, humanity’s future is bright! Truly, you are chosen by the Goddess!”

Sorry.

I wasn’t chosen at all.

If anything, I’m the guy who interfered with summoning the real Hero.

“Truly, thank you. As mayor, I offer my heartfelt gratitude. It may not be enough, but please accept this as travel funds.”

With a heavy thud, money was placed before me.

After studying under Erika, I could roughly understand the value of money here.

I could also tell how precious this huge sum was for a town of this size.

And yet they tried to hand it over without hesitation.

That gratitude…

It hit hard. Too hard.

“I-I only did what a Hero should do. I can’t accept this. Please use it to repair the town and care for the people.”

“How merciful. It seems the Goddess chose the finest among all.”

“Hahaha…”

Stop.

Please stop praising me.

I can’t take it.

“E-excuse me. I need the restroom.”

“Yes. Please use it freely. If you need anything, call and I will come at once. If necessary, I can even wipe—”

“I’m good!”

I fled the scene.

Pretending to go to the restroom, I ran to the outskirts where no one would see me.

Breathing hard, I checked that I was alone, and then—

“I can’t—be happy about this at all!”

I groaned.

Just like I said, I couldn’t be happy.

Defeating a Demon King commander.

We’d scored a massive win right at the start of our journey, but I couldn’t celebrate, for a lot of reasons.

We’d dragged the town into it, and I’d even thought about running away.

Still, I’d resolved to stand and fight—honestly, I should praise myself for that.

But… more than anything else…

“What is wrong? Were you not heading to the latrine?”

“….”

“If you must relieve yourself, do it sooner. A hand that swings a blade grows dull when one is holding it in.”

“THAT’S WHY—WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?”

I shouted.

At full volume—taking advantage of the town’s festival noise.