Chapter: 137
“Is this the hero’s village?”
“Yeah. The village where the first hero closed his eyes.”
The young hero gazed at the village landscape from the entrance.
The first hero, whose name was never recorded. The village where his last breath lingers.
In this small mountain village,
“Buy hero bread! It’s freshly baked and piping hot!”
“If you’ve come to the hero’s village, you’ve got to grab a souvenir! Look! A statue of the hero! We also have hero sword decorations!”
“This is the hero memorial! We’ve perfectly recreated the house where the first hero lived! Just 10 silver!”
It was a scene of people cashing in on the hero’s legacy.
“What the heck is this…?”
“By the way, none of the direct descendants of the hero live in this village.”
The silver-haired girl said coldly.
“After the first hero died, his bloodline gradually left this village. Some direct descendants lived here for the first few generations, but they didn’t stick around for long.”
“Then who are the people living in this village?”
In response to the hero’s question, the silver-haired girl shook her head slightly and said,
“Who knows. Probably folks who gathered to make a quick buck off the hero’s legend.”
“So, it’s all about money in the end…”
With his hopes completely dashed, the young hero collapsed to the ground in despair.
“But at least this place is close to the Temple of Life, so they might think it’s safe from the Demon King’s threat.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but… what’s hero bread?”
“It’s a bread shaped like a shabby sword, baked in a mold with dough. It’s filled with sweet red bean paste and tastes delicious. Want to try some?”
“No, I’m good…”
The hero fell into despondency once more.
The hero’s village. When he heard that name, he had imagined…
[A small village where the hero’s descendants live.
A village to test any new heroes that appear.
By overcoming that trial, one would gain the recognition of the first hero and obtain the treasures he once wielded.]
But the reality was just a tourist trap.
“The hero’s descendants are still people. They all scattered after the first hero died.”
The silver-haired girl was already holding a paper bag filled with sword-shaped breads and munching on one of them.
“Are you really not going to eat any? Am I seriously going to have to eat them all by myself?”
“I won’t eat…”
“But they’re so tasty!”
The silver-haired girl continued munching on the shabby sword-shaped bread, completely oblivious to the young hero’s feelings.
— From the adventure records of a certain hero party.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The hero descended into Hell with the Reaper.
Walking along the riverbank that separates the living world and the Afterlife, he saw children longing for their parents.
[Do those kids come to Hell too…?]
[Death is fair to all, young and old. Still, those innocent kids move on to the next life without facing judgment from Hell.]
The hero and the Reaper passed by the children and arrived at a ferry dock where an old man could only stare in silence, his mouth sewn shut with black thread.
[You should find a pouch in your robe. Take out the fare for the ferry.]
[In my robe?]
The hero rummaged through his plain white robe and pulled out a surprisingly hefty pouch.
[It’s smaller than I thought. I figured a renowned hero like you would have a massive bundle that’s hard to lift.]
[This is the pouch my sister gave me.]
It was a pouch made from wyvern leather, large enough to easily carry a small house.
[And I’ve never carried anything this heavy before.]
Carefully holding the pouch, the hero opened it on solid ground by the riverbank.
And a massive quantity of silver coins poured out, forming a small hill.
[…?]
[No wonder it was so heavy.]
The hero chuckled lightly as he stared at the mound of silver coins.
[This should definitely be enough for the ferry fare, right?]
[Ah, yes.]
The Reaper and the ferryman could only nod weakly at the staggering amount of silver.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
The hero continued onward with the Reaper.
They passed through a beautiful flower garden that was healing just to look at, then a dark path of black pebbles with nothing in sight.
They crossed through Hell where flames burned souls, and Hell filled with those pierced by icicles, and then Hell overgrown with thorns.
And in front of the hero, who had walked through the overwhelming darkness of Hell, appeared a gigantic door.
[I can’t go any further. Inside are the three administrators of the Afterlife.]
[Is that where I’ll be judged?]
[Yep. They’ll examine a person’s life and weigh the gravity of their sins before passing judgment. Well, I’m off.]
[Wait, where’s my sister… ah, she’s gone…!]
The Reaper who had brought him had already vanished into thin air.
[Hmm… looks like I have no choice but to go in.]
Gazing at the massive door ahead, the hero steeled himself.
[Whatever, I’m already dead, so what’s the problem? I won’t die again! But this door… how do I open it?]
The hero began examining the gigantic door. A pitch-black door with various carvings, it resembled the entrance to the Afterlife, but staggering in size.
Creak.
The door started to open on its own.
[Whoa… it really does open by itself.]
The hero peeked inside a dark corridor adorned with countless crimson-decorated pillars.
At the end of that corridor were… the gods of the Afterlife.
The hero took a deep breath and stepped through the open door.
[You’ve finally arrived.]
The scenery changed completely.
The building was filled with antique decorations, and three pairs of eyes were looking down at the hero from the front and the sides.
[Seven levels, each taking seven days for a total of 49 days. The hero’s trial has finally begun.]
To the left sat a being made entirely of black shadow.
Resembling the Reaper, but overwhelmingly more imposing.
A massive Reaper shrouded in death’s aura.
[I am Thanatos, the king of the Reapers.]
The king of the Reapers. No wonder the hero felt a resemblance between the Reaper who brought him here and this Thanatos.
Next was the being seated in the center.
Dressed in Eastern attire, with a veil-draped crown hiding its face.
Holding a mirror in one hand and a scroll in the other.
[I am Yama, or Moros. I am the investigator who examines your life.]
A considerably gentler presence compared to the other two.
Finally, the being seated to the right.
An entity appearing as a woman, half alive and half dead.
Holding a scale in one hand and a massive greatsword upright in the other.
[Ugh, how troublesome… can’t you just let him through? I mean, given his life story, he seems like a perfect candidate for a free pass.]
[Keres. Introduce yourself.]
[So annoying… Ahem. I’m Keres. I’m the judge who weighs the gravity of sins and passes judgment.]
She said it casually but had an ominous glint in her eyes, more so than the other two.
[Alright then, let’s get started.]
Yama, reflecting the hero in the mirror held in his hand, began to examine the scroll that unfolded by itself.
[Hero. Hero Yohanan. You lost your parents at a young age and became an orphan, wandering until you accidentally pulled the sword from the Temple of Life and became a hero.]
[Wait, the hero actually had a name? Wow… that’s new information.]
[Keres. Shut up.]
As Thanatos spoke softly, Keres pouted her lips, seeming a bit disgruntled.
[After traveling the world with the Dragon Priestess, he defeated countless monsters and saved many humans.]
[Dragon Priestess, huh? It’s really baffling why she would take on such a bothersome role.]
[Keres.]
[Yeah, yeah. I’ll zip it.]
Ignoring Keres, Yama continued reciting from the scroll.
[After the journey ended, he got married, had one daughter, and lived quietly without significant incident until his death at the age of 103. Is there any mistake?]
[I was 103 years old? Honestly, I didn’t even keep track of my age.]
[Well, that makes sense if you grew up an orphan. Anyway, let’s move on quickly. We’ve got a mountain of work piling up. It’s scary when three of us are assigned to one soul’s trial.]
[Ke-re-ss.]
[Yes~ yes~. I’ll be quiet.]
Contrary to what the hero had expected, the atmosphere was surprisingly light, even among the gods of the Afterlife.
[Let’s see… No record of murder, fraud, or theft. Just a little violence against monsters, but that was to protect humans and save other lives.]
[Pretty clean.]
[Well, of course. He had someone by his side, you know.]
The three gods of the Afterlife nodded as they reviewed the hero’s life.
[From this view, there doesn’t seem to be any issues with his life.]
[Right. This will likely be the first soul to pass the trial in the Afterlife.]
[Hmm. So all that’s left is to weigh it on the scale, correct?]
Keres lightly aimed the tip of her greatsword at the hero, and a faint essence flowed out from him, gathering at the blade’s edge.
[Seems like just dusting off some dirt. Almost no sins… I can already guess the outcome.]
[Keres. We have to follow the procedure.]
[I know, I know. Can’t you be a bit less rigid?]
Keres placed the essence collected on the greatsword onto the scale, but the scale showed no change.
Then,
[Then let’s add the final sin.]
Yama, who had been quietly listing the hero’s life, spoke softly.
[The sin is, a mere mortal monopolizing a goddess.]
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