I Tried A Test Slash And Ended Up In Another World (3)

“S-surely you’re joking about the death penalty, right?”

“There’s no way that’s a joke.”

“W-why not?”

“Listen. The Hero is humanity’s hope.”

The princess continued.

The world was divided into east and west.

The east was the Human Realm, ruled by humans.

The west was called the Demon Realm, where demons lived.

Once every several hundred years, a Demon King was born in the Demon Realm.

The Demon King led the demons and began invading the Human Realm in order to claim the world.

The Demon King’s power was overwhelming.

Humanity had no means to oppose it.

That was why the Goddess created a Hero who wielded the holy sword, as the final bulwark to protect humankind.

A miraculous person born to oppose the Demon King.

That was the Hero.

“And you impersonated that person. Of course you’d be executed.”

“I-I didn’t impersonate anyone!”

“It doesn’t matter what you intended. My father and the others believe it.”

“S-seriously…?”

I slumped forward, collapsing to my knees.

If I was exposed as a fake, it meant execution.

And the princess already knew.

Which meant…

“Your execution is guaranteed.”

“……”

“Normally, that is.”

“Huh?”

The princess curled her lips into a grin.

It was a very mean smile.

“You should be glad it was me who found out. You still have a choice.”

“A choice…?”

“Yes. Two of them.”

The princess raised two fingers.

“One is to tell the truth and be executed.”

“I-I absolutely refuse that.”

“Of course you do. Then there’s only one choice left… actually defeat the Demon King.”

“—!”

Me? Defeat the Demon King?

Even though I wasn’t a Hero?

“If you do that, it won’t matter whether you’re fake or real.”

“N-no way! That’s impossible! I’m not a Hero!”

“Then you’ll just die.”

“Ugh…”

That was absolutely unacceptable.

But she was telling me to pretend to be a Hero and fight the Demon King, right?

There was no way.

I’d played countless battles in games.

But in reality, I’d never even been in a fight.

“There are no real choices. If you can’t do it, it’s execution… if you don’t want that, you fight.”

“Damn it…”

“So? What will you do? Die here? Or—”

It was the ultimate choice.

Accept death without resistance.

Or resist.

Looking back, my life hadn’t been very interesting.

I hadn’t talked with my family in a long time, and I had no girlfriend or friends.

Thinking about it, I didn’t really have a reason to desperately return.

So would it be fine to die here?

If I could go without suffering, that might not be so bad…

“No.”

I remembered.

That’s right.

There was still something I had to do.

“I haven’t seen how that manga ends yet…”

“Manga?”

The princess tilted her head.

Ignoring that, I clenched my fist with all my strength.

“Fine, I’ll do it! I don’t want to die!”

The one and only way for me to survive.

A fake Hero defeats the Demon King.

At this point, I was all in!

“I’ll defeat the Demon King and become the real thing!”

“—It’s settled, then.”

And so, my painful and miserable days began.

Once I decided to defeat the Demon King, I was supposed to set off immediately!

But that wasn’t how it went.

“One more lap!”

“Haa, haa…”

“Are you all right, Hero-sama?”

“I-I’m fine.”

I was absolutely not fine.

You could tell just by looking, right?

I was currently participating in training with active-duty knights.

Why?

Because I was a complete amateur when it came to combat.

Even if I was called a Hero, I was just an ordinary guy who had never properly swung a sword.

If I went straight to the battlefield, I wouldn’t stand a chance—not even against the Demon King’s underlings.

So the plan was to undergo basic training for a month and become even a little capable of fighting.

During that time, I’d also study this world.

At the princess’s suggestion, my intensive training began.

“Huff, haa, huff… haa…”

“Hey, Hero-sama, are you okay? You look like you’re in serious pain.”

“He’ll be fine, right? He was chosen by the holy sword. This much should be… no problem, right?”

The young knights kept glancing at me in concern.

There was no way I was fine.

I was a born-and-bred indoor type.

I hadn’t exercised since high school P.E.

I’d always had low stamina, and long-distance running had been hell.

Before I realized it, even the young knights who had been running nearby were gone.

“Ah, this brings back memories. The guys who said ‘let’s run together,’ then betrayed me seconds later…”

Well, it was my fault for being slow.

“You look like you’re having a hard time.”

“Geh! Y-Your Highness…”

“You’re making quite the face. Would you like me to reveal your true identity?”

“I’m very sorry! It’s an honor to see you!”

I snapped my back straight and bowed deeply.

I couldn’t defy this woman.

Since she knew my secret, her word was absolute.

“Then keep that momentum and finish the run. Understood?”

“Yes! Uoooooo!”

“Hehe. You’d better do your best. For my sake.”

Damn it. Damn it!

Why did I have to go through this!?

I wasn’t even a Hero…

“Oh! The Hero-sama is catching up!”

“As expected. Even though he’s younger than us, he’s got guts. We can’t lose!”

“Haa… haa…”

At this rate, wouldn’t I die before even setting out on the adventure?

But I couldn’t complain.

The princess was watching.

If my secret was exposed, it was immediate execution.

If it had to be exposed, at least let it be after I left on the adventure.

Outside the royal castle, there was at least a chance I could run away.