Published at 26th of December 2025 7:39 am

Chapter 458: The Genuine Article I Desire Is Not Necessarily the One That Everyone Else Acknowledges as Authentic.

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Due to the awkward atmosphere, I left the scene with a vague smile at the old man who was giving me a suspicious look. Immediately after, Tia, who was standing next to me, offered me the skewer in her hand.

Too bad you dropped yours. Here, have this.

Oh, thanks Wait, youve already eaten half of it! Well, Ill take it anyway.

I took the half-eaten skewer and bit into what was left. It had cooled down a bit, but the taste was still good.

So, Ed. Why do you think the heros name is different?

Hmm, there are roughly two possibilities I can think of.

Chewing on the wooden skewer, I continued talking.

One is, well, an impostor. There are fake heroes everywhere.

Thats true. When I saw my fake, I had to laugh.

Tia chuckled, covering her mouth, probably remembering that time. Of course, the heros party was famous, and impostors would occasionally appear

Well, that was something.

When we encountered a trio consisting of a fairly short Alexis with a decent face, a tall but skinny Gonzo, and a Tia (actually a human woman in her 30s) who looked much older than the real one and wore fake long ears made of pig skin or something, I honestly burst out laughing.

By the way, there was no impostor of me Well, yeah. I was just the baggage carrier after all.

But in this case, I think the possibility of an impostor is low.

Oh, whys that?

Because of what that old man said earlier.

If this were a small rural town, we might think an impostor had appeared nearby. But this is a large town with a population approaching ten thousand, and the words came from an old man at a stall near the town gate in other words, someone who frequently interacts with outsiders. So it cant be a simple impostor.

If everyone involved uses the same name, it means thats believed to be the truth throughout this area. A country wouldnt go to the trouble of fabricating a hero. The cost-benefit ratio would be too poor.

Thats true.

While it would be an honor if a king or prince became a hero, even if theyre not the hero themselves, being a companion or employing the hero would be valuable enough. So unless theres a serious problem with the heros birth or personality, they wouldnt go through the trouble and expense of impersonating the hero.

And as far as I know, Hero Magna was from a farming village in this country. He was decently mannered and a good person. Unless theres some hidden backstory of him being the secret child of some noble, there shouldnt be anything problematic about revealing him.

Then, whats the other possibility?

Well that the hero has actually become a different person.

Heroes are strong. But theyre not invincible or immortal, just human. If for some reason Magna was already dead, theres naturally a possibility that this person was chosen by the world as the next hero.

Or perhaps this world itself has changed significantly, and the hero has become a different person from the start. At this point, we cant completely deny that possibility. We know too much to blindly believe that the first run the previous world will simply repeat itself.

Well, either way, well find out if we check. So, may I escort you to a less crowded place?

After tossing the wooden skewer into a nearby trash can, I bowed slightly to Tia. Tias ears twitched, and she put her hand to her mouth with a composed face.

My, how bold, even though its still daylight. But since you offer, It would be discourteous of me to decline.

Taking her outstretched hand, we turned into a random alley and headed towards a darker area. When we reached a place with no one around, I extended my right hand, palm up.

Appear, [Akashic Compass]. The thing Im searching for is the hero no, the hero I need to meet in this world.

In response to that query, the face of a rather ordinary young man appeared within the metal frame. Soon after, a compass needle indicating the direction appeared and thats why I tilted my head.

Whats going on?

Whats wrong, Ed? Who was that just now?

Its Magna, Hero Magna. The hero I met in the first run, but

? You searched for the hero and the hero appeared, so why do you look like that?

Well, because then why isnt Magna the hero?

Magna was living normally. From what I briefly saw, he wasnt imprisoned or seriously injured, but seemed to be doing ordinary farm work.

And Magna was the hero. Since he was shown with the current specification, he must still be the hero chosen by the world. And since there can only be one hero at a time

Does this mean someone who isnt the hero defeated the Demon King and is being called the hero?

Eh? Thats, um, how ? If they defeated the Demon King, they should be the hero, but theyre not the hero Huh?

Next to me, Tia had a deeply confused expression. I felt the same way, my head was getting quite tangled.

Okay, okay. Lets calm down for a moment. Information, lets list only the confirmed information. First, the hero of this world was the man we just saw, Magna. We can consider this confirmed information. However, from his current situation, Magna doesnt seem to be engaged in any form of conflict which means he probably hasnt defeated the Demon King. Nevertheless, the Demon King of this world has most likely been defeated. Otherwise, this peaceful atmosphere cant be explained Yeah, he must have been defeated.

Just to be sure, I checked with the [Akashic Compass], but there was no response for the Demon King. Unless theres a trickster who can even fool me, its safe to say the Demon King has been subjugated.

So, if we ask who defeated the Demon King instead of Magna, its this guy called Reiholdt. Hes not the hero chosen by the world, but somehow he managed to defeat the Demon King. Well, its not like only the hero can absolutely defeat the Demon King, so he must have managed it somehow.

So, does that mean Magna-san is the real hero who didnt defeat the Demon King, and Reiholdt-san is the fake hero who did defeat the Demon King? Ugh, Im getting confused again.

Well, its a matter of how we define fake and real.

If being recognized by the world is the condition for being real, then Magna is real and Reiholdt is fake. But if defeating the Demon King is the condition for being real, then Magna is fake and Reiholdt is real in other words, their positions are reversed.

That said, in this situation, I dont think Magna is aware that hes the hero, so if you asked anyone other than us, theyd probably say Reiholdt is the only hero.

But you know, as for what we should do from now on, theres no need to worry about it.

Eh, why not?

Well, you see, the condition necessary for us to be banished is to become companions of the hero appointed by the world.

Ah, I see. Thats right.

While it seems that Reiholdt is considered the hero by the public, as we confirmed through [Akashic Compass] what we need is to be recognized as companions by Hero Magna. So what we should do is become companions of Hero Magna and deepen our relationship as originally planned, but

Well, thats exactly why its going to be really tough.

Why? Unlike this Reiholdt person, Magna-san isnt famous or anything, so cant we just go meet him normally?

Hahaha, youll understand when we get there.

Yes, we wont know until we go. And even if we go we might not be able to start anything. If my prediction is correct, this should be the most difficult situation weve faced so far.

Well then, lets set out anyway. Fortunately, we know the direction.

Saying that, I led Tia out of the alley andleft the town we had just entered. If people live there, there should be roads connecting to it, so for now, well take a shared horse carriage roughly in the right direction.

Now, what will happen I hope some problem arises or something like that

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