Chapter 1: Bounty on the Runaway Hero

Simiga, a city located at the northeastern edge of the Castia Empire.

Bordering the forbidden land of Ens, the city carried an unmistakably closed-off atmosphere.

Even though night had not fully fallen yet, most shops had already closed their doors, and inside the tavern that was still open, there were only two occupied tables.

“Thinking about it again, I should really end the deal. Their demands get more outrageous by the day.”

A man seated at one of the tables grumbled in irritation.

“What now this time?”

“Well, now they want me to bring Sagmil. A fish that’s only caught in the Musmond Sea all the way at the western edge! It was just the other day I nearly died trying to get fruit that only grows in cold regions!”

“You cursed them out for forgetting that the Castia Empire doesn’t even have cold regions.”

“Exactly! In the end I had to secretly divert imports from the Asta Empire just to manage it. Do you know how much extra I had to pay to convince them when they said it was goods meant for the Imperial Palace and absolutely couldn’t be touched? Damn that bastard Inas!”

At the voice filled with fury, my fingertips twitched.

Not because I was startled, but because the name I had been waiting to hear was finally mentioned.

“Would it kill him to trade with money instead? Bartering in this day and age. That guy Inas has something fundamentally wrong with him.”

“What would he need money for when he never leaves Ens?”

I raised the empty glass to my lips, pretending to drink while focusing even more intently on their conversation.

“Damn it. Guess I’ll have to find and hire a mage who can warp me all the way to Musmond.”

“Haha, I thought you said you were quitting the deal.”

“I would have quit long ago if I could. But you know it too. The potions Inas makes bring in ridiculous money.”

“You’ve got to admit, the guy’s magical ability is the real deal.”

A magician who lives holed up in Ens, making potions.

Putting the clues together, I was finally certain.

The person they were talking about, Inas, was definitely the one I had been searching for.

‘So he really does live in Ens.’

I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved that the rumors were true, or despair that they were true.

The forbidden land, Ens…

Still, finding a merchant who trades with Inas was already something.

That man surely knew how to contact him.

‘I want to go home…’

I wanted to return to my original world.

And for that, I absolutely had to meet Inas.

****

Since its founding, the Castia Empire had fought countless bloody battles against the demon race.

Victory had always leaned toward the demons, but humanity never gave up.

The tide turned after the Archmage Allegros created magic capable of summoning a Hero from another world.

The summoned Hero slaughtered demons with physical abilities so overwhelming it was hard to believe they were human.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that every battlefield humanity won had a Hero present.

But immediately after the last Hero died in battle, Allegros banned the use of the Hero Summoning magic he himself had developed.

The backlash was fierce.

It was said that even the Emperor personally tried to persuade Allegros.

Yet he refused firmly, declaring that the war could now be ended even without Heroes.

Then, around eighty years ago, just as Allegros had claimed, the long and grueling war ended without a Hero.

Because he concluded a peace treaty with the demon race.

‘Demons and humans shall not invade each other’s lands.’

The center of the continent, separating the territories of demons and humans, was designated as a forbidden land and named Ens.

No demon and no human was allowed to enter Ens.

People were uneasy, saying a mere treaty could never stop demons.

Yet surprisingly, the world became peaceful.

Even now, after Archmage Allegros has passed away, the peace treaty still stands.

What changed was…

‘Who was it that stood at the forefront of the war against the demons and brought it to an end? Our Castia Empire! Yet Asta, Lifrus, and Yuria, these three empires have formed an alliance and now treat Castia as their enemy. Those ungrateful wretches must be shown the greatness of our Castia Empire.’

No one could stop the current Emperor of Castia, Luther Francis, from performing the Hero Summoning ritual for reasons unrelated to defeating demons.

And thus, this summoning of a Hero became the spark that would ignite a continental war.

However, the summoned Hero…

“Did you hear the story? About the cowardly Hero.”

“Ah, I did! The one who ran away from the Imperial Palace?”

No one had expected the Hero to flee the palace.

“Haha, that nickname fits perfectly.”

“Still, a Hero running away from the Imperial Palace.”

“His Majesty the Emperor must be furious.”

“And not just him. They say House Logan is in total chaos too.”

“Man… times like this make living on the edge of the Empire feel peaceful.”

News of the summoned Hero’s escape had spread across the Empire and even into other nations.

Along with the added detail that the Hero, marked by black hair and black eyes, was a coward who trembled in fear before even a single monster.

“The bounty is a full hundred gold coins.”

“A hundred gold coins… that says enough about how angry they are.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a wanted bounty this high before. They must really be grinding their teeth over it…”

Did they even know that while the bounty on my head was a hundred gold coins, my actual salary had only been three?

‘A hundred gold coins? Those bastards…’

Did they realize that the so-called Hero had been nothing more than an ordinary person who used to spend peaceful, lazy days sitting at a computer desk, splitting the screen between a game, XTube, and XTalk while constantly checking their phone?

‘Do they really think Heroes from over a hundred years ago are the same as Heroes today? A century has passed!’

I didn’t know why those old Heroes had worked so hard, or been so good at it, but one thing was certain.

They had completely spoiled the expectations of the people in this world.

‘What kind of mess is this…’

It had been one month since I was summoned to this world.

More than enough time to realize that denying reality and calling it a dream was pointless.

Even if I didn’t want to believe it.

Ten minutes before the update of the online game I loved playing finished.

After hyping up my party members by saying we’d claim the first clear of the new dungeon, I went to the bathroom—

And somehow ended up dropped into a completely different world.

‘Brave Hero who has answered our summons, we request that you subjugate the demon race.’

I had been debating whether to scarf down a cup of instant ramen before the dungeon run.

Instead, a bolt from the blue struck me.

Where is this place? Who are these people? Did I fall asleep while walking? Suddenly like this? Or… did I die? Sometimes people die while gaming, right? No, if I died then I died, so why are they talking about Heroes?

‘I summoned you, Hero, for the safety of my people. You shall prepare for the demons’ attacks by defeating monsters and strengthening yourself…’

Time to sort out my questions?

There was no such thing.

Before I knew it, I was wearing armor and swinging a sword like some character from a game.

Anyway, since they told me to do it, I tried my best.

I had nowhere to rely on after suddenly being dropped into an unfamiliar land.

And being praised as a Hero… well, there was pressure not to disappoint them.

‘…I-I can’t do this.’

The problem was that I simply wasn’t cut out to be a Hero.

I realized it clearly the day I was thrown into real combat after barely any training.

‘Pull yourself together, Hero. If you can’t do it, who can? No… I can’t. I-I can’t! Ugh- bleeegh!’

The first monster I ever faced.

To say this now, but monsters looked exactly like giant stag beetles.

Eyes that seemed to look nowhere.

Wings buzzing menacingly, bzzzzzz.

Multiple legs with every hair visible.

Everything about it was pure terror.

‘Hero!’

So I ran.

I even threw away the sword they told me I had to keep with me even while sleeping.

Nothing changed afterward either.

Whenever I saw a monster, I panicked and ran away.

I simply wasn’t someone meant to be a Hero.

That was when the label “Cowardly Hero” stuck to me.

People began to look at me with contempt, and the treatment I had once received as a Hero gradually disappeared.

Eventually, what remained was…

‘Oh dear, looks like a bug fell into your food. Ugh… Well, it can’t be helped, Hero. Just eat it. You do nothing but eat our food anyway, you’re not going to ask us to make another meal, are you?’

It was nothing more than petty harassment.

“I should’ve punched that bastard in the face at least once…”

Did they think I’d burst into tears and suddenly volunteer to slay monsters?

Sorry, but I’m someone who’s had plenty of experience dealing with low-level bullying.

If something’s disgusting, you just stop looking at it.

I left home and quit school before, did they really think I’d keep playing the Hero here?

“Give me a break.”

So I ran.

Since nobody managed to catch me even when I ran from monsters right in front of them, I thought I had a chance…

But honestly, it had been almost too smooth.

All the way until I drifted into this city, Simiga, there hadn’t been a single real crisis.

It almost felt like they were letting me go.

Though judging by the bounty, that clearly wasn’t the case.

“Hoo…”

Anyway, now that I’d escaped, I had absolutely no intention of being caught again.

In fact, they probably couldn’t catch me even if they wanted to.

Because I had just stepped into the forbidden land, Ens.

All to meet the genius magician Inas, disciple of Archmage Allegros.

‘If it’s the mage Inas… maybe he can send a Hero back to their original world…’

A hope I had stumbled upon by chance.

Of course, it was insane that I had entered Ens blindly without even knowing the identity of the person who told me about Inas…

But…

‘It’s not like I have anywhere else to go…’

Right now, I wasn’t in a position to be picky.

If there was even a chance, however small, I had to try.

If it meant I could go home, I had to bet on even the tiniest possibility.

Because I had no intention of staying in this world forever.