The False Hero, Volume 12, Chapter 5 pt2 (Patreon)

“I'm sorry,” Celine says to a customer at the counter. “The sword you're looking for sold just this morning.”

“What bad luck…” The young adventurer hangs his head.

“I apologize that you couldn't get what you wanted. Have you tried looking at the other swords we have for sale for a similar price?”

“Yeah. They're good, but the one I wanted was the perfect size and weight for me. The others will take some getting used to, if I want to use them in battle.”

Celine nods. “I understand. Unfortunately, our inventory is a little low right now, but if you come back in a day or two, we should have more stock for sale. Maybe you'll be able to find one that fits your needs.”

“Alright. Thanks for letting me know.”

The young adventurer turns from the counter, his posture showing clear disappointment.

Celine watches him with an awkward expression, obviously wanting to do more to help him. The problem is that our items fly off the shelves nearly as quickly as I can stock them, which has led to many situations where people come back looking for an item they had their eyes on, only for it to have already sold.

If we had a better item management system, then Celine might be able to help people like them. But right now, I just dump all the shop's items on them from time to time, so once they start to run out, there’s no warehouse where they can go get whatever equipment they need for customers.

As the young adventurer walks away, Celine turns her eyes to me. She’s using [Sense Mana], so she knew exactly when I showed up. Plus, she was part of the telepathic conversation where we told Belle’s family that we were coming over.

Seeing me coming out of the back room is not a surprise to her at all. Instead, there’s a simple question lingering in her gaze, and it’s one that’s easy to answer.

“Hey, adventurer.” I call out to the young man before he can take his second step.

Hearing a voice from behind, he turns back. Unlike Celine, he didn’t expect me to suddenly show up, so he can’t help but let his eyes go wide.

Truth be told, many of the customers who visit the shop don’t just come for the high quality items at a reasonable price. They’re also hoping that The Elven Crossroad’s owner will make an appearance.

In other words, me.

Unfortunately for them, I actively avoid coming out to the front precisely because I don’t want to attract people here who are only coming to see me and have no real intention of buying anything. They’d just gunk up the shop and make Belle’s family have to work even harder to manage the crowd.

But everything has its exceptions, including my hands-off approach to dealing directly with customers. And now is one of those times.

“I heard you say you’re having some bad luck today.” I continue before the young adventurer can find his voice. “Not sure I agree with that.”

“Y-you’re him. You’re the Great Hero!” He simply says the shocking part out loud.

“Last I checked, yeah.”

With the shop being even busier than usual, it’s no surprise that I have a lot of faces turned my way now that people have realized who I am. I’ve long since gotten used to being the center of attention, as every time people recognize me, they can’t help but stop and stare.

Until recently, their gazes were filled with fear and hatred. That’s the normal response when suddenly coming face-to-face with the infamous False Hero.

But now, things are different. Ever since I defeated the other three heroes and summoned the girls as Great Heroes alongside me, the people have dumped all their hopes on me to defeat the fiends.

That’s exactly why I turned the fight against the heroes into a public spectacle, to force the people to put their faith in me. After all, there’s nobody else for them to turn to. Even if they saw me as the False Hero only a couple weeks ago, when there’s nowhere left to place their hopes, they have no choice but to plant them at my feet.

While my ability to attract attention hasn’t changed, the gazes of the people looking up on me now are far different from the ones I became accustomed to as the False Hero. Even though their negative emotions have been replaced with more positive ones, I somehow find it harder to deal with.

Back when they hated me, it was easy to dismiss them. They didn’t need or want anything from me, and the feeling was usually mutual.

But now that I’ve become their last hope, there’s clear expectation in their eyes. Every time I look at them, I’m reminded of the millions of lives across the world that are at stake.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, huh? No wonder King Edgar’s always so stressed out about everything.

“Anyway.” I forcefully move the conversation along. “I brought some new swords with me, and I’m sure I’ve got something you’d like.”

After motioning for the adventurer to come back to the counter, I bring out three swords of varying weights and sizes. Even though I’ve been thinking of him as a young kid, he’s actually a year older than me, putting him at 16.

Technically, that makes him an adult. People in my new world are forced to grow up much earlier than on Earth, but even with that, I can still see a hint of childish youth in him.

“Which one of these three swords best suits your fighting style? Feel free to pick them up and try them out.”

“I use a shield, so a lighter weapon works best for me.” He reaches for the smallest one, checking its balance and weight. “This one is … good.”

“Is it? Or is it just better than the two bad options beside it?” I pick up on his feigned enthusiasm, which I’ve come to expect. “But now that I know what kind of sword you like, I can do this.”

The two larger weapons disappear, replaced by two more. The new ones are similar in size and weight to the one he picked first, with a bit of variation in their styles to give him some unique options.

“Now,” I continue. “Which of these three is your favorite?”

He places the original weapon back down and picks up one that’s a bit longer, with a thin, straight blade that ends in a deadly tip. Swords are multifunctional, but depending on its design, it can be geared toward various specialities.

The one he picks up is thin and lightweight compared to most, making it a poor choice for parrying heavy weapons. But since he uses a shield, he doesn’t really need a sword for defense.

What the weapon lacks in defense, it makes up for in offense. Specifically, its ability to stab and pierce. Although not as specialized as a rapier, the weapon he’s looking for is similar in functionality while still being generalized enough to slash or parry when needed.

Continuing with the method optometrists use when giving eye exams, I send the unwanted weapons back to my [Inventory] and bring out two more.

“Which one is clearer–oops, I mean which one of these swords fits you best?” Absolutely nobody gets my joke, which is far more satisfying than any of them could imagine, considering the girls have gotten so good at figuring out what I’m saying, even when they don’t fully understand the context.

After the final round of choices to narrow down a few more specifics, I finally have a perfect grasp of what kind of weapon he wants. So, rather than bringing out two more swords for him to choose from, I run my hand along the counter top, just a few inches above it.

Blade after blade appears, spanning nearly the entire length of the counter. Although there’s a large variation in their designs, they’re all nearly identical in their size, weight, and functionality.

“I’ve ordered them from cheapest.” I point to the sword on the very left. “To the most expensive.”

The young adventurer eyes the blade on the right, which is made of a powerful mithril alloy that’s only a bit weaker than pure adamantium. Although he eyes that particular sword with clear desire, he gives up on it quickly. As expected, someone his age can’t afford such a powerful weapon.

His gaze falls on the left side of the counter, from my perspective. The cheaper swords may be weaker, but for the prices I charge, they’re still worth every copper coin.

He picks one up that’s only a few swords up from the cheapest. “This one looks almost just like the one I wanted to buy.”

“I’ve had that one in my [Inventory] for a long time. Picked it up on my first dungeon run several months ago and never found a use for it.”

“How much?”

[Scry] shows me the weapon’s value, but the Arcane Magics have yet to fully spread amongst the majority of the population. I’d be surprised if more than one or two of the people in the shop could even cast the spell, and many of them are adventurers who would greatly benefit from learning it.

The problem is that training magic the old-fashioned way takes a lot of time and effort. With how few teachers there are to train people in the new class of magic, it’ll take a while for it to become mainstream.

“I’ll let it go for 50 silver.”

“That’s even cheaper than the 80 silver the other sword was selling for.” The young adventurer clearly has second thoughts, his eyes moving along the table at some of the more expensive weapons.

“Don’t worry.” I hold my hand out, and he gives me the weapon. “I can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed with this blade.”

I buff the sword with various enchantments, giving it [Agility Up: Large], [Strength Up: Medium+], [Piercing Up: Medium+], and [Durability Up: Medium]. Considering the weapon is just a silvered steel alloy, this is all it’s capable of holding.

Compared to my equipment, it can be considered laughable. But for an average adventurer, it’s still an amazing weapon that he can use all the way until level 30 or 40. In truth, the young man is quite far below the average, so buying something like this for only 50 silver is basically like winning the lottery.

I hand the sword back to him and watch his reaction when his fingers curl around the hilt. As expected, his eyes go wide as the buffs hit him.

“It goes without saying, but take care of that blade, and it will take care of you.”

“T-thank you…!” Without hesitation, he takes his pouch and counts out 50 silver.

“Just remember that a powerful weapon can only do so much. Don’t let it go to your head and try to conquer a dungeon you’re not ready for.”

“I understand, but I’m not going to a dungeon. I’m going to use it to fight the fiends when we march on them to end the war.”

“That’s a good goal. I’d gladly accept your help in the battle–if you were stronger. Level 13 is good for your age, but it’s not high enough to fight Chaos.”

“B-but I’ve been training!”

I nod. “I can tell. You’re going to be a powerful adventurer one day, for sure. But if you go with me to war as you are now, the first day of battle will be your last. The fiends are simply too powerful.”

“I see…”

“Don’t worry. There will be plenty of chances for people like you to make a name for yourselves. And between you and me, conquering dungeons is safer than fighting fiends.”

Having gotten a weapon he can be proud of, the young adventurer says his goodbyes before leaving the shop. Without a doubt, he’s going to try and join the war, but he’ll find it difficult to trick anyone who can see his level with [Scry].

We’ve already limited the soldiers and adventurers to a minimum level of 20 to join us in the final battle. To be honest, even that’s too low, but they can at least act as reserve troops that are capable of fighting low-class fiends like Berserkers.

Any lower than level 20 and they run the risk of being a liability on the battlefield, rather than an asset. Plus, nobody wants to see a bunch of young kids like that adventurer getting slaughtered by such fearsome monsters. Better to leave it to us older men who no longer have the glow of youth about them.

Technically, I still have that same glow. But that’s beside the point.

“So.” I turn back to Celine. “How about we ditch the shop for a bit and go for a walk?”

“Huh?” She looks around at all the customers, no doubt wondering who will take care of them without her.

The older brother is working the front too, but he has his own responsibilities and often spends a lot of time on the shop floor, rather than behind the counter. We can always get one of the guards to take payments, but that’s a last resort since they’re only lightly trained for the task.

However, there is someone here who can take care of it with ease.

“Don’t worry about it.” Belle steps up beside her older sister. “It’ll be a nice change of pace.”

“Oh! Thanks a lot, Belle! I knew I’d find a use for you someday!”

“What’s that supposed to mean!? I’m useful every day!”

“Eh? Is she, really?” Celine looks to me.

“Well…” I place my hand under my chin. “Maybe every other day.”

“Wrong!” Belle finds some fault with my answer.

With the counter covered by Belle, we’re free to leave without worry. And that’s precisely what we do, taking the front door that leads out to the market street where The Elven Crossroads sits.

“Now, let’s get down to business.”

[I recently had Celine's character art made, so you get to see her for the very first time!]