Episode 3: The Hero Story and Breaking Clichés (2) Fin
It went without saying, but Aria was older than she looked.
Her mysterious green hair, glossy and flowing.
Her jade-white, smooth skin, and her beautiful appearance, calm yet impossible to look away from.
All of it made her seem like a young, fresh woman.
But Aria, born as an elf, one of the long-lived races, had accumulated years no one could possibly guess from her youthful appearance.
After all, she had already been active as a bard since back when her longtime elderly fans were still crying wah-wah as babies.
If this had been Wade’s previous life, she might even have been subjected to some insulting slur about being an old hag.
And because Aria had lived through so many years, she could remain calm in most situations.
That was why, even in this incident, she had chosen to let it pass magnanimously rather than simply losing her temper.
But even Aria could not help being horrified after reading the first page of this book titled [The Betrayed Hero Takes Revenge], an unfashionable yet strangely intuitive title.
“Th-the Hero gets betrayed...?
And by his own companions...?
Because the Demon King has been dealt with, and now he’s in the way...?”
Because even her years of experience could never have anticipated such a spicy and shocking development.
What was a Hero?
Was he not a symbol of justice and hope?
To put it simply, a Hero was someone who defeated evil and brought victory to mankind.
And yet they struck such a being in the back from the very beginning?
Of course, even a Hero could face trials.
But those were only devices meant to make the Hero’s great deeds shine even brighter.
Until now, the ironclad rule of Hero stories had been that he overcame trials, defeated evil, and the story ended.
But this book was brazenly overturning that seemingly eternal rule.
The Demon King, who had always played the role of the evil force, had already been defeated.
And after that came the grotesque structure of a trial called betrayal by his companions.
The people who, more than anyone else, should have been the objects of his trust.
The companions who should have shared the joy of overcoming trials with him.
“They were actually traitors?!”
The Hero had been thoroughly used, and now that he seemed likely to become a threat to power, he was cast aside like trash that had outlived its usefulness.
And since this was shown not in the latter half but right from the introduction, it was only natural that her head rang.
The shock was so great that it stirred an instinctive fear in her.
With her own mind, she could not even begin to imagine how the story would proceed from here.
For the first time in truly a long while.
She felt an unfamiliar sensation, as if she had returned not to a bard who told stories, but to a single reader.
But perhaps that was precisely why.
Once she became a reader and began reading the book.
Aria quickly fell into this bizarre Hero story.
It was certainly shocking, and there was a sense of rejection as if all existing common sense had been denied, but more than that.
“It’s fun!”
It was fun.
Unlike the stiff writing style that had been difficult to read until now, it was smooth and flowed without obstruction.
There was plenty of dialogue and psychological description between the characters, which made it even more immersive.
And the stimulating scenes that were continuously injected throughout.
Made it impossible for her to stop, forcing her to keep turning to the next page.
The shocking content of the first chapter, in which the noble Hero was betrayed and dying, was one thing.
‘Surely they won’t kill him off like this, right?’
With anxiety and impatience, worried that they might really kill him off and end it like this, she hurriedly turned to the next page.
—Hero, will you not take my hand?
Take my hand, and let us have revenge on those wicked humans.—
—Demon King, are you the one who saved me...?
And you want me to take your hand?—
“The Demon King becomes a new companion here?!”
The Demon King, whom she thought had died, appeared and saved the dying Hero.
And as if that were not enough, he even joined as a new companion in place of the comrades who had betrayed him!
This, too, was an immense shock that shook all common sense until now.
The Demon King, who had always been regarded as absolute evil, was a companion?!
He was even depicted as far kinder and more magnanimous than the humans.
And most importantly, he was a woman!
Since it was important, let it be said again.
The Demon King was not a man, but a woman!
“Good heavens! A Demon King who isn’t hideous, isn’t evil, and isn’t even a man, but a woman!
How in the world did he come up with such an idea?!”
There was not a single thing that matched existing Hero stories.
—H-Hero! Don’t do this! Please! I was wrong! Forgive me!—
—The Hero died on the day of betrayal, struck by the attacks you launched from behind.
The one here is not some splendid fool called a Hero, but an avenger who has come to collect a debt!—
—N-no!—
When the Hero who had returned alive took revenge on the traitors one by one, and the traitors fell to ruin, she felt a thrilling catharsis.
—Hero, do not become too intoxicated with vengeance.
Please know that, to me, seeing your heart wear away is far sadder and more precious than those worthless things.—
—...All right. If you say so, Demon King, then I’ll try to let go of my obsession a little more.—
—Indeed. After all, it is enough for you to be obsessed with me alone! Huhuhu.—
—A-ah! That’s not what I meant?!—
In the forbidden romance between the Demon King, who kept him from being devoured by vengeance, and the two of them as they came to understand and forgive each other, she felt a girlish fluttering of the heart.
—We did it! We’ve captured the Demon King!—
—It was irritating enough that we couldn’t use the demons as an excuse for war anymore because you lost to some Hero.
And now you’ve gone and shacked up with that Hero to make trouble for us?—
At the part where the darkness of the humans was revealed, showing that they had in truth oppressed the demons and used them as an excuse for war.
And at the part where the Demon King was captured in the Hero’s place by the humans’ trap, she grew furious once more.
And when, at last, they overcame every trial and founded a new nation together with the rescued Demon King, reaching a happy ending.
“Huaaaah— Thank goodness...”
She let out the sigh of relief she had been holding back all this time and sank down as if all her strength had been drained.
It was proof of just how deeply she had fallen into the protagonists’ story.
Even Aria, who had listened to, created, and sung stories for hundreds of years, could not stop the pounding in her chest or the lingering aftertaste.
Would it be believable to say that it felt as though her emotions were being ruled by this book?
Yes.
As Aria herself felt it, her emotions were being ruled by this book.
By a storybook written in just a month by a complete outsider, not even some forbidden grimoire!
Of course, there were still parts that were lacking.
The sentences were easy to read, which was good, but they lacked cadence and rhythm.
The vocabulary and words used were too simple, and the descriptions were also concise, making them feel rough.
Things like that.
But those were only superficial matters.
At its essence, it possessed such overwhelming entertainment value that all those flaws no longer mattered.
‘A genius. Young Master Wade is undoubtedly a genius.’
She could not help the word genius appearing in her mind.
If he could imagine a story like this, then of course her own songs would seem boring to him!
‘I was the one who knew nothing and acted prideful.’
She had been going to admonish Wade?
Him, who might perhaps be far more outstanding than herself?
Flush—
Her face turned red from embarrassment.
But inwardly, she also felt relieved.
Because she had given him that punishment.
She had been able to discover this radiant talent.
‘Perhaps this work is his first.’
If he had been writing works like this all along, he would not have had any reason to invite her.
In other words, [The Betrayed Hero Takes Revenge] was his debut work!
The overwhelming joy of having possessed the first work of a genius named Wade was a sense of fulfillment she had truly never felt before in her life.
And as she looked at Wade, who was still fidgeting while watching her reaction, utterly unaware of his own genius.
Secretly finding him rather adorable.
Aria asked Wade in a voice completely different from before she had read the book, a respectful voice.
“Would you allow me to perform this script?”
So that she could gain the honor of possessing every first of his work.
***
It seemed Aria liked my writing quite a bit.
She didn’t mock it or tear it down.
And rather than simply reading it and leaving it at that, she had personally asked if she could perform it.
‘I can’t compose songs, though.’
‘I will handle the songs.
To think I’ll be able to complete this work together with you—it’s even more wonderful!’
She even went so far as to shut herself away for a week, saying she would make the songs herself.
Even as I wrote it, I’d had a feeling it might work.
But once I was actually acknowledged by a bard of Aria’s level, my shoulders and confidence rose without end like a crypto chart in a bull market.
‘As expected, it was a good thing I wrote a Hero betrayal story.’
People were the same wherever they lived.
Even on Earth, orthodox Hero stories had been considered clichéd, giving rise to countless variations.
And the Hero betrayal story was one of those variations, as well as one of the representative ones.
Recently, that had conversely become another clichéd trope, so orthodox, classic Hero stories had come back into fashion again.
But here, it still looked like it would be more than enough to work.
Why? Because no one had tried it yet.
Far from being sick of variations, this was an era where even orthodox Hero stories had not yet been properly established.
So what would happen if I modified it this heavily, making it easy to read, giving it a dramatic story, and adding some satisfying catharsis?
“Wade, are you saying you truly wrote this content?!”
This kind of reaction came out.
My family, after hearing the song Aria had made with a little adaptation based on what I had written.
Were naturally shocked and found it hard to believe.
They had thought something along the lines of, ‘Aria must be angry and determined to completely humiliate my son/brother!’
But then a genuinely entertaining story had come out, so of course they would.
It wasn’t as if my family were the type to indulge in fantasies like, ‘My son/brother, who’d been living like an unemployed bum, was actually an SSS-rank author who made a superstar marvel and obsess over him?’
But soon they came to their senses, stood up with bright smiles, and all began giving a standing ovation together.
“I thought our son was a wastrel whose only talents were lazing around, eating, and shitting. To think he had this hidden talent.”
“Indeed. Were you not surprised too, my lady?”
“It seems the old saying that even goblin dung has its uses is true.
To think my brother actually had talent as a writer.”
“Can’t you just praise me normally?”
Something felt a bit off, but in any case, I received praise from my family as well.
And the rudeness I had committed toward Aria was neatly resolved with this.
So the month-long commotion caused by my slip of the tongue came to a close without any particular trouble.
“Brother! Brother Wade! Did you see this?!”
“What are you making such a fuss about?”
“Look at this! The contents of this newspaper!
Isn’t this talking about the contents of that book you wrote last time?!”
—Shocking! The royal family’s secret revealed!
Did the royal family truly have demon blood mixed in?!
What is the ancient truth personally disclosed by the royal family?—
“What.”
Or so I thought.
Until, not long afterward, newspaper news carrying a bizarre report broke out.