Former Hero, Solo Play Oriented-Chapter 171

Rescued from the crowd by Chris, I was soon reunited with the three members of her party.

"Rain~!"

Beimerung, the pink-haired mage, dashed toward me, grabbing my hand enthusiastically. I tilted my head in confusion.

"I just came out, but you were already here?"

"Yep! Just by a few minutes, though," she replied with a laugh.

Since the only drop item was a single Holy Stone, there hadn’t been much reason to linger after clearing the dungeon.

"Rain, you usually don’t keep your system message and region chat windows open, right?"

"Right."

"Well, you might want to check the chat. We’ve got something to brag about this time," Chris said with a smirk, exchanging a knowing look with Beimerung.

Curious about their reactions, I opened both the system message and region chat windows.

> **[Chris's Raid Party has achieved the first clear of the elite dungeon, 'Heavenly Basin'!]**

>

> - Wow

> - Whoa

> - First clear achieved!!!

> - Of course, elite dungeons always get cleared on the first day.

> - How did they do it? How’d they take down the Red and Blue Lamias?

> - Wait, it’s not the No-Name Party this time?

> - First clears used to be monopolized by No-Name, lol.

> - It’s Chris’s raid team.

> - Chris's team should reveal their strategy!

> - Does this mean No-Name was dethroned? Making room for “Whitie”?

> - Nah, No-Name also joined in.

> - I saw Whitie go in alone, though.

> - So Chris’s party beat Whitie to the first clear this time?

> - Chris! Chris!

> - It’s just four against one, but somehow it feels like a huge accomplishment, haha.

"Oh."

When I’m fighting demons and monsters, it’s easy to forget that this world is just a game. With the system that’s been given to me, I simply use it to defeat whatever enemy stands in my way.

First clears aren’t something I’ve been particularly obsessed with. Up until now, I’d simply done my best and happened to be the first to clear every dungeon.

But this time was different.

The Heavenly Basin, tainted by demonic energy.

The party that first defeated the “Nightmare Amalgamation,” a fusion of all the negative thoughts and energies within the Basin, and purified the land was—

Chris’s raid team.

I looked up at Chris, eyes shining with admiration.

"Chris, you’re amazing."

“Well, it was a defense dungeon structure, and the four of us worked together. Up until now, even in twelve-person raid dungeons, we’ve always cleared after you.”

I shook my head.

"I’m a bit of an anomaly, after all. In some ways, it’s fair to say your party got the first clear this time."

That was the truth.

If we’re comparing it to a game, I’m an overpowered, glitch-like player.

For them to have beaten the dungeon before I did—it was undeniably an impressive feat.

“So, do we qualify as the hero’s companions now?” Chris looked at me with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“Oh.”

I could sense what Chris was thinking.

To some extent, she understood the sense of duty that I carried.

The hero of the past walked alongside companions.

Without a saint, he would’ve fallen wounded and defeated; without a knight, he would not have progressed in swordsmanship; without an elf, he’d lack the mental support needed; and without a dwarf, he would have faced the monsters’ attacks alone.

The hero, physically and mentally fragile, was shielded and strengthened by his companions.

And here I am, a hero walking alone.

I know. Now that I have people who care about me, there’s no need to insist on solo play.

But...

I gazed wistfully at the endless canyon beyond the Heavenly Basin.

"There’s someone I have to meet alone, at the end of this canyon."

“...”

Chris said nothing.

---

A few days passed since Chris’s party achieved the first clear of the Heavenly Basin.

In the meantime, Chris and I ran several dungeons together, with her diligently running the “bus” for other players.

Since the main item farmed in the Heavenly Basin, the “Holy Stone,” was tradable, the bus business wasn’t exactly booming. Still, there were passengers interested in daily quests and first-clear rewards who used the bus.

Standing in front of the Heavenly Basin entrance, Chris gave instructions to Beimerung and Cherni.

"Today, you two take care of Rain, alright? She’ll be logging in soon."

"You’re finally taking a long break and said you wanted to do something other than dungeons, right?"

"Yeah. I want to explore the lore of the continent of Asteria. There could be hidden quests, you know? I’d love to track some of those down."

"Haha, I heard there aren’t any rewards for those. I didn’t realize you weren’t just a dungeon fanatic!"

"Quiet. Everyone needs a change of pace sometimes."

With a flash, Chris activated the Return to Capital scroll, and her body was enveloped in light before she disappeared from the Heavenly Basin entrance.

---

Chris held a unique advantage when it came to exploring the lore of this world. As part of the pioneering raid group of the “Abyssal Tree,” she’d already established rapport with the Emperor of the Alpharion Empire.

Building good relations with a massive empire is no easy task. The level of access Chris had to information within the royal palace was something the average player could only dream of.

It had been a long time since she’d last visited the Imperial Palace, where she was escorted to a luxurious guest room for a private audience with the Emperor, who greeted her with a hearty laugh.

“Ha ha! The master of the Red-White Guild, Chris, isn’t it? It’s a pleasure to see you again.”

“Your Majesty, I hope you’ve been well.”

“Oh, nothing ever changes with me. I heard you played a major role in the purification of Erin’s Canyon and the Heavenly Basin. Truly impressive.”

After sharing a brief cup of tea, Chris brought up the topic she came to discuss.

“I hope this doesn’t sound odd, but I’ve always had an interest in history. Do you happen to have any records that go back over a thousand years here in the palace?”

“Hm? Were you a historian in your own world, Chris?”

“Oh, no, nothing like that. It’s more of a simple curiosity.”

Chris averted her gaze, trying to play it off nonchalantly.

The Emperor’s eyes took on a knowing glint.

“I understand. As adventurers from another world, it must be fascinating to explore the mysteries of this one. Yet, given your closeness to the Great Mother, I’m surprised you’d be curious about the continent’s history. She is, after all, a living testament to it.”

“There are... circumstances. It would be difficult to ask her directly.”

The Emperor let out another laugh and began to explain the repositories of knowledge held within the Alpharion Empire’s palace.

"The largest collection would be in the Royal Library. Many records about the war between humans and demons from a thousand years ago remain. However, as for records concerning the hero’s party from that time, very few exist. That’s what you’re most interested in, isn’t it?”

Chris’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

As expected of the Emperor of a great empire.

He had a sharp sense of what Chris sought.

Yes.

Chris wanted to trace the hero’s path.

The burdens Rain carries, the duty she shoulders, and the pain she endures are all tied to her past on this continent.

Rain, who trusts Chris deeply, would surely tell her anything if she asked. But each time she confronts her past, Rain’s heart feels as if it’s being ripped apart. Chris could never bring herself to ask Rain directly, knowing it might reopen old wounds over the companions she lost.

Chris wanted to know about Rain’s companions.

She’d met Igrain personally.

In the snowy northern plains.

And at the end of Erin’s Canyon, there was likely something else connected to Rain’s past.

Rain intends to face it alone.

And, inevitably, like with the Abyssal Tree, she’ll endure immense pain.

So before that happens...

"I need to know."

Rain doesn’t prevent Chris from understanding her past. In fact, she seems to secretly wish Chris would understand it. But she never brings it up herself, knowing that recalling it brings nothing but agony.

If that’s the case, Chris would uncover it on her own.

And then, together with Rain, she’d face it.

---

Chris walked alone down the vast hallways of the Imperial Palace.

It was the same corridor adorned with portraits of past emperors of the Alpharion Empire that she’d once visited with Rain.

“If you want to know, go here. You won’t learn everything, but you might find records written by someone who once walked with the Great Mother. Someone precious to her.”

The Emperor had said this with a warm smile.

Though Chris wasn’t sure what the Emperor might have misunderstood, he seemed to remember the fact that she and Rain had danced together at the palace ball.

Because of that, she’d been granted permission to enter an area typically restricted to the imperial family.

A magnificent corridor. A wide path. Portraits masterfully crafted by the Imperial Palace’s artists.

At the end of the hall were portraits of the first Emperor and Rain, side by side.

It was her second time seeing Rain’s portrait.

“There’s supposed to be something behind this.”

Recalling the Emperor’s advice to keep her discovery to herself, Chris reached behind the grand portrait of the first Emperor, feeling around for a small handle.

There it was, something like a handle.

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Following the Emperor’s instructions, she turned it left three times, then right twice.

With a low rumble, the first Emperor’s portrait swung open like a door.

Before Chris lay a hidden passage within the Imperial Palace.