The party stared at the charming girl who was wearing a smug look. Then, putting both hands on her hips, she continued.
"That's right. 'Tis I, the youngest Arcane Sage in the kingdom. I have arrived out of the kindness of my heart to rescue you from the cold fangs of death. No need to fret any longer for I, the genius mage, will finally put an end to all of your suffering. Well, you must be starstruck. Don't worry, I won't blame you for that. After all, very few have the chance to be graced by my presence, and even fewer get to eat together with me. So bring me some more of that."
As Seraphina was about to grab another skewer of bird meat, Yobu swiftly took it first and put it behind his back. He then growled at the girl who was pouting in rage.
"Hold your horses! First of all, we have no idea who you are! Second, where the hell does that small body of yours store all that food?!"
The mage crossed her arms.
"Huh? Were you born yesterday? Not a single soul in these lands have not yet heard of my name. Perhaps, you are travellers? Also, I haven't eaten that much! You're clearly overreacting."
She turned to the archer when she spoke.
"Yes, we are indeed not from these lands. Actually, we came all the way from Philgem."
Seraphina's eyes widened. Then, Lana continued.
"We are the Hero's Party."
In silence, the young mage looked at the party members one by one, and then her eyes landed on Alsten.
"Oh... You guys are those traveling circus clowns."
Yobu let out a sigh, Hetaphar whistled and looked away, Genler forced a smile while Lana raised an eyebrow.
"Still, that explains why you don't know who I am. You're not from Clyxousia, plus, you have your own silly delusions to keep yourselves busy. I knew my popularity would never fail to reach any reasonable individual."
Alsten glanced at his party members before looking back at Seraphina. He then spoke.
"Wait, what are you saying? What does this mean?"
The mage sat back down and turned to him.
"Why are you surprised? Only Philgem believes in that nonsense prophecy. They declared that the demonkind will one day wage a global war against humanity without any proof to back it up. Are we just supposed to accept that and follow all of their ridiculous demands?"
Alsten's eyebrows furrowed, then asked in a low tone.
"Then, are you saying that the whole world sees us as nothing more than a bunch of crazy lunatics?"
Seraphina shrugged.
"More or less."
The group sat in silence.
Was that true? Then what the hell was the point of their five-year travel?
Alsten looked at them with questioning eyes before Lana spoke, breaking the silence.
"There's no doubt in my mind that the Oracle's prediction is true. However, we can't force that belief on others. We will go to Ur and stop the Demon King. We will save the world. Even if it means being ridiculed. Even if it means being persecuted. Even if we receive no acknowledgement for it at all."
Alsten stared at her in disbelief, she just looked at him with an unreadable expression. That expression again. It just never sits right with him.
"What? You're okay with that?" Alsten lashed out.
"You'll be saving these ungrateful people for nothing! How is that fair?"
Then, Lana's eyes opened wide. All of his party members also looked at him in shock. What he said might not have been so Hero-like, but to him, it was a logical question. He couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Then, Lana spoke, behind her shocked expression lay a deep sadness.
"But Alsten, those were your words..."
He was... he said those words?
The real Alsten did.
The Hero stared at them in silence, trying to hide his fear and self loathing.
'You fucking idiot! Should've just shut my mouth.'
Then, Lana continued, her words felt sharp, he almost didn't want to hear them.
"We found it frustrating at first, but you were the one who made us realize... helping people should always come first. It doesn't matter if they acknowledge it or not."
Alsten gulped hard. He froze in place, desperately trying to find the right words to say.
They were looking at him, their eyes were full of questions.
He opened his mouth.
"E-Exactly!" his laugh sounded so fake that even he didn't buy it.
"I was just... worried about what you guys think. Of course, I don't care about acknowledgement and all that. I will... we will save the world no matter what."
'Please believe me. Please believe me. Please believe.'
They stared at him for a few moments and before any of them could respond, Seraphina spoke, her face was full of confusion.
"What's going on here?"
Yobu partially turned his head towards the young mage, but his beastly, red eyes lingered on Alsten for a few seconds before finally breaking the suffocating eye contact.
"You see," he began. Seraphina looked at him, while Genler and Lana were exchanging glances. Hetaphar was looking at Alsten.
The Hero was looking down on his shaking hands.
'What are...'
Yobu's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"He's Alsten the Hero. And he's lost his memories for an unknown reason. We suspect that it's a curse."
All sounds began to fade, and one thought remained.
'What are my chances against these guys...'
He had been training for the past few days. He'd learned a lot of techniques in swordsmanship, and he'd say he'd gotten a decent amount of experience too, fighting those Snow Trolls everyday. Can he... do it?
He was suddenly pulled out of these thoughts by Seraphina's next words.
"Then, you're in luck. I also majored in Curse and Spell Systems, and therefore may be able to help you."
Things only went from bad to worse for Alsten. He slowly raised his gaze to the proud mage. She had been messing things up ever since she arrived.
"Don't worry about payment, I'll look into it for free. Besides, you were kind enough to feed me, so I'll do this much."
The Hero's Party, except for the Hero himself, had their faces lighten up...
"R-Really?" Lana asked, a hopeful desperation was written all over her face.
Shocked by her sudden reaction, Seraphina leaned back. Something wasn't right. She replied nonetheless.
"Yes. Whatever this curse or spell is, I should be able to lift it."