"Mighty in splendor, graceful in righteousness. His powerful hand stretches outward as he saves those in need from distress..."
...Blah! Blah! Blah!
Asa, Gu, and Liebert continued by singing praises to my na.
They even started reciting whatever stories they were told about 'The Hero' from their upbringing.
Their voices overlapped, and the praises were too much that they burned my heart.
'Cringe! Too cringe!!!'
If I wasn't too careful, these Adventurers would waste my ti and I would not be able to obtain the items by the ti they were done.
'I have no choice. I have to bring up the topic!'
"I know why the three of you are here." My voice calmly interrupted their chants of praises, or whatever.
"A-ah...?!"
"As expected of the Hero!"
"A-aweso..."
As expected, their eyes glimred in more reverence.
However, this feeling soon died out, and a heavy atmosphere took over the room. The Adventurers who addressed with great energy and splendor suddenly had dull faces.
'Ah, here cos the terrible news. They're about to give their sob story.' I nearly rolled my eyes.
Asa seed to be the Party Leader, so the other two were dead silent—waiting for her to spill the beans, no doubt.
I waited to hear whatever tall tale they would tell . I knew I needed to exercise patience, but if it was one random excuse, then—
"I-I shouldn't be surprised that you know already... the trouble that has befallen Dulum..." Asa began, now breaking down.
Her body suddenly quivered with what appeared to be sorrow, and tears ford in her eyes.
'Oh? Her acting is good.'
I didn't expect her to be in on the corruption of the Adventurers City. Weren't people like Asa pure and kind?
'I'm disappointed, young lady...'
To think she too would stand in my way of obtaining what was rightfully mine.
"Everything happened so suddenly, but Vice Guildmaster Zabdel said you must have already seen it coming..."
I knew it! Zabdel was the mastermind behind this whole thing.
'I really didn't expect him to be a sly fox, but I guess you can't trust people.'
The only issue now was how to handle the situation.
The way Asa was sniffing, and the whole narrative they had would probably put in a tight spot—especially since I was the Hero.
'But I can't forget my weapons, can I? Damn, this is hard...' My eyes went back to Asa.
She was still sobbing, and the other two were comforting her.
As I watched them pat her back, I felt the hypocrisy from where I stood. They were all trying to gain my sympathy, weren't they?
'Bunch of sycophants!'
"W-we need your help, Legendary Dragon Slayer... I an, Hero. Please, help us!"
'How shaless! Not only would they deprive of my stuff, but they now sought my aid?'
Things were already spinning out of control. Evidence of that was Asa already calling 'Hero'. They were obviously trying to take advantage of .
[System Response]
'A-ah... I nearly forgot about that.'
But, wasn't that what made this situation even more surprising? I an, they were supposed to be on my side, but where were my goods?
Nothing was adding up!
"I see... I understand." My voice unconsciously let out.
Asa and the others lit up a bit, obviously happy with my slip-up.
'This is the problem with ad-libbing. Shit!'
I was now stuck within their expectations of my duty as a Hero, and also forgiving them of their refusal to give my stuff.
'There's no way I'm going to be a pushover Hero!'
It was ti to fight for my right! Like, I didn't care if I sounded rude or whatever. I just wanted what was rightfully mine.
"And what about the weapons I told Zabdel to forge? They're important, you know..."
Yes! That's right! I intentionally used 'Zabdel' to prove my superiority. With my condescending tone and my demand for the items, I was sure they would realize how unwilling I was in cooperating.
"Y-yes! They really are! Without them, there's no way we would have been able to last this long!"
My eyes widened and I could not believe Asa's shalessness.
'She's literally admitting to using my stuff for their own ends!'
It finally struck .
Dulum was probably in debt. Perhaps they even had economic problems and needed funds.
I an, looking at their rugged town, it wasn't too far-fetched—though I didn't expect things to be this extre.
'They're selling my Earth Dragon Weapons to pay off their debts? And now that it isn't enough, they want my help? The heck?!'
Asa and the others had been eyeing all my goodies for a while now.
They thought I was a cash cow, so they must have been planning to use in order to settle their debts!
How low were these people willing to go?
"Last this long, you say..." I murmured, hiding the pain locked in my heart.
I felt the ultimate betrayal course through .
How could the Adventurers I trusted so much betray like this?
"Y-yes..." Asa must have sensed the discomfort in my voice since hers echoed hesitantly.
"... But, they won't be enough."
'Y-you...!' Asa's eyes kept shifting as I stared at her intensely.
So I was right, after all!
They wanted my resources to settle their debts.
'Just how much is it anyway? Earth Dragon Weapons will be freaking expensive. How deep a ss could they be in?'
"This is serious..." My lips parted and a grave tone poured out.
Asa and the other Adventurers nodded, now pretending to be completely at my rcy.
I was trapped!
'To think I wanted to use Dulum to reach out to the rchants. If they're so deep in debt, that's nothing short of a pipe dream. Shit...'
As I pondered on what to do, Asa groveled even further and pleaded.
'Urgh! What more do you—?'
"P-please save us from the Demon Invasion!"
For a mont, my mind went blank.
But, once it finally got restored, only one thought could manifest. It was a simple thought, but it conveyed a lot of aning—at least to .
'E-eh...?'
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