"Ahh, my body hurts. We stayed in the Demon Forest for hours," said Kail. "I feel so tired from killing so many demons."
"We got a lot of demon materials, so it was worth it," Aric said happily. "We can sell them for a good price. We were short on money."
"But where will we sell them? The guild hasn't been rebuilt yet," asked Kail.
Aric thought for a bit and then said, "We can sell them to a blacksmith—the same one we went to last time."
"You mean the one we went to together with Leno?" Kail felt sadness.
"Yes. We don't need any new weapons or anything, so let's just sell the demon materials to the owner. He will make good swords and armor to sell," Aric replied.
"Don't you feel sad when reminded of Leno?" asked Kail.
"What do you mean?"
"I thought we got along pretty well when we met and was hoping we could be friends. I never imagined..." Kail stopped talking.
Aric looked at Kail. "You shouldn't trust others that easily."
"I guess you're right," Kail said, still a bit sad.
After a bit, they arrived at the blacksmith, got the items they requested last time they were there, and sold the demon materials.
"Let's go to the inn now. I'm tired too," said Aric.
On their way, someone approached them. A young man who looked the same age as Aric, around 20 years old. He had bright orange hair and golden eyes.
"Excuse me, sir, are you perhaps the Crimson Hero, Aric?" he asked.
Aric looked at him and recognized him on the spot. "Only one noble family is known for their golden eyes, and the crest on his clothes... the Aeridor Family," thought Aric.
"Yes, Lord Aeridor. I am the Crimson Hero. How may I serve you?" asked Aric politely.
Kail recognized him as well but stayed quiet. The Aeridor Family was of a higher noble rank than Viorel's family.
"No need to be so polite," said the nobleman. "Oh, and is this the young man who I've heard rumors about joining your journey?"
"Yes, he is," Aric replied.
"Hello, my name is Kail. It's an honor to meet you."
"Oh, where are my manners. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Tristan Aeridor. I'm the second-born son of the Aeridor Family. It's nice to meet you two."
"The honor is all mine sir. I've heard that you're gonna go on your Hero Trail soon, Lord Tristan. How are you feeling about it?" asked Aric.
A Hero Trail is a mission given to a person by the emperor. If they succeed in completing it, they will be given the title "Hero."
Kail's eyes lit up. "Hero Trail? Are you applying to become a hero, Lord Tristan?"
"Yes, I'll soon start the trail," said Tristan.
Not just anyone can do this trail. You have to be a noble with a good reputation and be known as one of the strongest. After the emperor acknowledges you, he will send you a letter if you want to become a hero. But it's not over yet. After that, you start the Hero Trail. The emperor gives you a big mission to see if you are qualified, and if you finish it, you will be given the title of Hero and try to get stronger to defeat the Demon Lord. After all, that is the duty and only reason one becomes a hero.
"But to be a hero you need to be a noble, so how did you, Aric, become one?" Kail asked curiously. After all, he wanted to become a hero too, but he wasn't a noble.
"It's quite a long story, so I'll try to make it as short as possible," Aric smiled awkwardly.
"Yes, I'm curious too," said Tristan.
"You already know the beginning, Kail, but since Lord Tristan doesn't, I'll start from the start," said Aric.
"My adoptive parents died a long time ago when our village got attacked by demons and burned down, so I went to live with my grandma at a different village. Here is where the story begins. This village was small, with no adventurers' guild. No adventurers visited it, and a lot of elderly people lived there, so robbery happened frequently. The citizens sent letters of help and quests to other towns' adventurers' guilds, but no one came. So I decided to start training to protect them. I trained every day on my own, and thankfully I had talent in magic and swordsmanship, so in three years I was already C-rank.
Years passed, and I turned sixteen. In this time, I had gone to the capital and other cities to get weapons and buy food for the village, quite a lot. On the way there, I helped people on the road from demon attacks and bandits. My name spread everywhere. Even the emperor heard of me, but he didn't really care—I was a commoner, after all.
Then one day, some people came to our village by orders from the emperor to destroy it. They were planning on building something else there that would profit the Empire. Since the elders could barely move from old age, they sent me to talk to the emperor about this and try to change his mind. I talked and tried to convince him, but nothing worked. Then I got an idea and said to him, 'What if I became a hero? Would you protect the village then?'
The emperor said he had heard of my name, but how could a commoner become a hero? He gave me a chance and let me do the Hero Trail, thinking I would die. But unexpectedly, I passed. He saw my strength and decided to make me a hero and not destroy the village. Years passed, and other nobles became heroes, but as you may know, they unfortunately died in the battle against the Demon Lord. Though we did travel together, I wasn't very close with them. They mistreated me because I was a commoner, but still, they had fought for the Empire until the last moment, and I had great respect for them."
"Ah, so I need to be famous to become a hero," said Kail.
"You've already earned a reputation by traveling with the Crimson Hero, so you don't have to worry much about that," said Tristan. "But what an interesting and sad story. I'm glad everything turned out fine in the end."
"You know, since you never knew your real parents and origin, you might be a noble with those handsome looks of yours," joked Kail.
"No way," Aric replied. "Do you know any noble family with red eyes?"
"Haha," Kail chuckled. "No, I don't."
"Oh, I almost forgot why I came here." Tristan's face turned serious fast.
Aric and Kail's faces turned worried instantly.
"The emperor actually sent me here to find you, Sir Aric. He has an urgent message for you."