[New Mission Added: Save this world's Hero]
[Description: If Ereon—the hero of this world—dies, the world will be destroyed, including the user.]
Dyren sat on the bed inside his room. He stared at his mission screen. The mission he received was completely absurd. Not because he had to save Ereon, but because there was no reward for the mission.
"Isn't this way too unfair?" Dyren complained.
He scratched his head and lay on the bed. Not panicking at all. He was sure Ereon wouldn't be killed that quickly.
Searching without any clues would be difficult. Especially since the hero's party was already handling it. He would wait a bit while thinking.
"This never happened in the novel Crimson Sovereign, right?" Dyren recalled again. It had been a while, and he had almost forgotten. "I'm pretty sure Ereon was never kidnapped like this in the early chapters. He's supposed to be strong, there's no way he could be kidnapped."
Dyren still couldn't believe it. He thought hard, wondering why fate had changed so drastically. Everything was supposed to be fine.
Especially since he didn't feel like he had changed much from what was supposed to happen. That's what Dyren initially thought, but after remembering something, he gulped.
"There's no way… just my presence alone caused all this?"
Dyren didn't want to believe it.
But the truth was, the plot had changed. He was quite certain it had something to do with him. Even though his heart rejected the idea. He didn't want to admit that he was the one who altered this world's fate for the worse.
Dyren stood up. He walked to the window. Looking out from the inn. All the houses were dark as it was already close to midnight. People were already asleep.
"Damn. I guess this really is my fault."
He scratched his head. He also didn't have any choice but to save Ereon, since his own life was on the line. If this world was destroyed, he would die too.
"Is Ereon really that important to this world? So important that I have to save him when he's in trouble. Even though I have my own goals," Dyren muttered.
He let out a long sigh. He opened the window and jumped out. In the end, Dyren joined the search for Ereon.
***
Saria walked quickly through the dark village roads. In her hand, she held a dimly glowing staff to light the way. Behind her, Kael and Mireille followed. No one had spoken since they left the inn.
"I already checked the west side earlier. This time, let's try the east," said Saria, trying to keep her voice from trembling.
Kael just nodded. He still felt guilty. He should've been able to protect Ereon. He shouldn't have let his friend go alone. Ereon was humanity's hope to defeat the Demon King, and now he was missing.
"If he's still somewhere around the village, we should be able to find him," Mireille said, trying to sound encouraging, though her voice trembled with doubt.
Saria paused for a moment. She looked at her two companions. "We can't just walk around aimlessly. We need to think—where was he last seen, and where would he most likely go next?"
"He said he was going to the village chief's house," Kael said quietly.
"And yet he never arrived," Saria replied, biting her lower lip. "So he disappeared on the way."
The three of them looked at one another. The road from the inn to the village chief's house was rather quiet and rarely used at night. There were about 20 houses along the way, but only three were occupied.
And they had already visited those three earlier, but Ereon wasn't there.
"Don't tell me... he was attacked?" Mireille asked hesitantly.
"If he was, why didn't we hear anything? No signs of a fight?" Kael shook his head, doubtful.
"What if the culprit is actually one of the people living in those houses we checked earlier?" Mireille offered another guess.
Saria and Kael immediately shook their heads. They didn't believe Mireille's theory.
"They're old. Most of them are between 40 to 55 years old. Do you really think they could fight Ereon, a Sword Hero?" Saria couldn't believe it.
She was sure there was a more logical explanation, though she hadn't found it yet. Kael thought the same.
Mireille just shrugged. "Alright then. I'll go with what you both say."
They continued walking through the village, checking every corner. They entered house after house—even the empty ones. They circled the village five times, but still found nothing.
The night grew deeper. There was nothing more they could do. In the end, they returned to the inn and went to sleep.
They would search again the next day.
***
Dyren did the same thing that night. The result was the same. He returned to the inn and slept, but when he woke up the next morning, he got up immediately, bathed, had breakfast, and left.
"The last place he went was the village chief's house. That's suspicious," Dyren said.
He wanted to share this with Saria and Mireille, but held back. He was sure his suspicion would be immediately dismissed by them with the usual, "The village chief is a good man. He welcomed us here."
Dyren was sure those words would come out of Saria or Kael's mouth. Their personalities were just like that. So annoying.
"If he really never made it to the village chief's house, then—" Dyren remembered the person who pushed him into the well. "Who was that? Was he the one who kidnapped Ereon?"
Unfortunately, he had fallen face-down at the time. He couldn't see the person's face. He had also passed out for several hours before finally waking up.
Dyren changed his route. He walked toward the largest house he had seen before. He was sure someone from the village lived there.
Dyren would go there first. Before meeting the village chief.
"That old man… couldn't be, right?" Dyren shook his head. "Nothing's impossible. I have to investigate, or it'll be too late."
Dyren quickened his pace. He went there first. When he arrived, he saw an old man cleaning the garden. The old man looked relaxed. His face didn't show any signs of evil intent. Dyren hesitated for a moment, but still walked toward him.
Dyren stood in front of the gate. The old man looked up at him.
"What is it, son?" the old man asked.
"You're the one who kidnapped Ereon, aren't you?" Dyren accused him directly without any small talk.
The old man frowned. He looked like he had no idea what Dyren was talking about. His face was innocent. But Dyren didn't care. He pushed open the small gate and grabbed the old man by the collar. His gaze was sharp. He even pulled out a knife.
"Tell me, or I'll kill you!" Dyren shouted.