Heroine.
Chosen by the deity, responsible for hunting demons, slaying the Demon King, bringing peace to humanity.
They possess physical abilities far beyond ordinary humans and are innately endowed with miracles capable of countering demons, even the Demon King.
Each generation’s Heroine would have a decisive battle with the Demon King, peerless in valor, defeating the Demon King and crippling the demon forces. Then, when the next Demon King rose again, a new Heroine would be chosen.
But this time, the summoned Heroine—Furenna—was an unqualified Heroine.
More than just unqualified. On the road to subjugating the Demon King, she attempted to flee and evade her responsibility to defeat the Demon King. In the end, it was Crown Prince William and Saintess Lilith who defeated the Demon King, generously giving all the credit to Furenna, this cowardly and incompetent Heroine.
Yet Furenna proved insatiably greedy, even colluding with the remnants of the demon race and, like the previous Heroine, harming innocent humans. Crown Prince William and Saintess Lilith had no choice but to lead the people and expel the evil Heroine from human lands, driving her into the remote, uninhabited deep mountains and forests.
“…It’s been ten years now. The evil Heroine Furenna, warned by Prince William and Saintess Lilith, dared not return to the human world again. The story ends here.”
A wandering bard vividly told the story of “Crown Prince William and Saintess Lilith Banish the Evil Heroine Furenna” to the surrounding villagers in the small village named “Falling Star Village.”
“Uncle, Uncle! Is it true that Prince William and Saintess Lilith got married?”
A child sitting cross-legged on the ground excitedly raised his hand and asked the wandering bard. For information-isolated villages, wandering bards were a precious source of information.
“Yes, the wedding was held in the capital a week ago. The scene was truly extraordinarily grand. Unfortunately, there were so many people that I couldn’t even see the bride and groom’s faces. They are the great heroes who saved humanity, after all.”
The wandering bard removed the wide hat from his head and placed it on the ground. The surrounding adults understood and placed coins inside the hat as compensation for the information.
“When I grow up, I must go to the capital! Prince William and Saintess Lilith must be extremely good-looking!”
The wandering bard smiled and nodded in affirmation of the little boy’s longing.
“Of course. They are humanity’s great heroes, who defeated the demon invasion, expelled the evil Heroine, and brought lasting peace to humanity.”
Another nearby child curiously raised their hand and asked, “Uncle, where is the expelled evil Heroine now?”
“The expelled evil Heroine? It’s said she was jointly driven by the royal family and the church into the deep mountains far from the human world. It’s been so long without any news—she’s probably already dead.”
The wandering bard answered casually. He gathered his hat and the coins inside, preparing to find an inn to rest. The surrounding listeners continued discussing among themselves.
“That scum deserved to die.”
“Betrayal from a divine emissary.”
“The Heroine Sister was not scum! She didn’t harm anyone! It’s all the fault of the royal family and the church!”
The noisy crowd turned toward the voice. What came into view was a girl around sixteen years old, glaring angrily at the wandering bard.
“Little girl, words must not be spoken recklessly. The royal family and the church are the great heroes who protect humanity.”
The wandering bard felt surprised by her stance, but merely thought it was childish nonsense or based on baseless rumors. He didn’t care about her opinion and took his hat, preparing to leave.
“I cannot allow you to slander Sister like this!”
The girl blocked his path, lifting her head to stare at the wandering bard, her beautiful eyes filled with anger. She could not accept what he said.
“Little girl, don’t make trouble. Hurry and move aside.”
The wandering bard frowned, wanting this strange little girl to quickly get out of the way.
“I don’t care! You can’t tarnish the Heroine Sister’s image!”
“Slander the Heroine? Little girl, I don’t know what you’re talking about. But you must know, the Heroine was a coward who fled, colluded with demons, and ultimately a scumbag who killed innocent people.”
The wandering bard felt baffled. After hearing this, the girl became even angrier. Just as she was about to say more, a white-haired elder rushed out from the crowd, pulling the little girl away.
“What nonsense are you doing? Come with me immediately.”
“Village Chief Grandpa! You clearly also…”
“We’re leaving!”
Seeing it was the white-haired elder, the girl did not struggle. Still wanting to insist, under the elder’s stern attitude, she had no choice but to compromise and leave.
“What a strange child.”
The wandering bard muttered oddly. Among the onlookers were no lack of gossip-lovers. One of them leaned over and explained to the wandering bard, “That girl just now is said to have received help from the Heroine. She’s very sensitive whenever the topic of the Heroine comes up.”
“Received help from the Heroine? Probably something done by Prince William or Saintess Lilith, with the Heroine stealing the credit. Poor child—she doesn’t even know the truth.”
The wandering bard shook his head pityingly, put on his hat, and left. As he departed, the gathered crowd also dispersed and returned to their homes. The arrival of the peaceful era allowed all human industries to rapidly develop. People lived busy yet fulfilling lives.
To have such a happy era of peace was truly something to be immensely grateful for—thanks to Crown Prince William and Saintess Lilith.
“Village Chief Grandpa, you clearly know it wasn’t like that! The Heroine Sister was not a bad person!!! The ones who caused Mom’s death were those sanctimonious, beastly members of the royal family and church!”
The girl, pulled back home by the village chief, finally exploded once inside, her pent-up emotions reaching their limit. Anger made her pupils tremble. She could not accept the shameless actions of the royal family and church, nor their insult to the Heroine Sister.
“Ti Mo, stop being so naïve. From now on, don’t mention Heroine Furenna in front of others either. This is for your personal safety.”
“Village Chief Grandpa, you…”
Ti Mo still wanted to argue her case. The village chief wearily waved his hand and returned to his own room.
“Why do this? Why frame the Heroine Sister? She was so gentle. She was the great hero who saved humanity…”
Ti Mo sat weakly on the stool. Angry, she could only punch the wooden table uselessly to vent the suffocation in her heart. With her emotions low, she decided to go see the place where Heroine Furenna once lived in “Falling Star Village.”
Ti Mo was familiar with the route, turning a few corners and quickly arriving at a long-abandoned area of haystacks. Here, several haystacks were the residence where the former Heroine Furenna had lived for over a month. As a child, she had loved coming here to play with the Heroine Sister, until…
Ti Mo’s hand suddenly clenched. She thought of that nightmare-like memory again.
…Until Ti Mo’s mother was killed, and the young Ti Mo ran here alone to seek the Heroine Sister’s help…
Ti Mo stood by the haystacks, her lonely gaze sweeping the surroundings. She seemed to still see the helpless child from that rainy night, and the back of the Heroine as she left and never returned.
“Wait…?! There really is a child there?”