The World After Leaving the Hero’s Party

Chapter 1: Defeated the Demon King

[You have achieved the “Defeating the Demon King” accomplishment.]

A massive, horned figure with a body like a mountain.

The hero’s sword pierced the neck of the demon king, whose hulking muscles, countless tentacles, and ominous aura radiated darkness. As it did, a message window popped up before me.

Three years since I entered this game.

Finally, a burden has been lifted.

Hearing that I could return to reality if I achieved all the accomplishments, I went through quite the ordeal.

Of course, defeating the demon king doesn’t mean I can return immediately.

But still, just knowing I climbed one of the biggest mountains is satisfying.

After all, I can finally say goodbye to everything that tormented me.

“Haa… haa…”

The hero who severed the demon king’s head.

Delicate golden hair, as if crafted from molten gold.

A slender face, showing traces of a long, arduous journey.

Eyes like the sun, glistening in crimson, and arms that look deceptively frail despite her overwhelming strength.

With an impressive figure, the beautiful hero Claire looked at me and spoke with difficulty.

“He-hey… Sage… h-heal…”

“Oh, right.”

At her shout, I came to my senses and looked at the other party members.

A female knight with silver hair tinted in blue, tall enough to match my own height.

Her visible muscles inside the armor proved her strength. Leventia, battered from the demon king’s attacks, was gasping, spitting blood.

A beautiful elf archer with glossy black hair as radiant as the night sky.

Her drooping long ears made it obvious her spirit was completely broken. Evangeline, clutching her broken bowstring, was trembling.

The only one still standing here was the official leader of the hero party, Claire.

And the only unofficial party member, me, Sage Yoon Hyun Woo.

“S-Sage…?”

A voice barely calling out to me left me conflicted.

For the past three years, 80% of my struggles were due to cleaning up after these people.

The Seeker of the Eight Stars.

The game I ended up in is a notoriously difficult roguelike game.

When you die, there’s no revival.

Just like a weak creature, characters could suddenly die from stress, quit the party, or even betray you.

Such a nasty game.

When I entered, the hero party was already assembled, and perhaps due to the game settings or my Sage class, I couldn’t officially join the party.

In the end, I had to follow them around as an unofficial member, providing support. The experiences were… quite varied.

Frankly, I wasn’t sure whether to heal them, now that they were no longer particularly essential to me.

“Sa… Sage? Or… Hyun Woo…?”

A fearful voice made me shrug.

I still had a few accomplishments left and a few things I needed them for, so no need to let them die here.

“Heal.”

A gentle light spread from my staff, enveloping the area. The two who had been incapacitated heaved big sighs, regaining consciousness and standing up.

“Phew… you moronic human…!”

Did I cast the heal too late? Elf archer Evangeline approached, growling at me.

Following her, Leventia the knight gave me a contemptuous look.

“…Hmph. Do you have no intention of helping your comrades?”

As soon as they recovered, they began to berate me, releasing the stress built up during the battle with the demon king.

And Claire, who should’ve stopped them, simply observed with a gloomy expression.

Yes. The party leader watched as they bolstered their self-esteem through meaningless and unjust accusations.

Afraid I might talk back.

Afraid I might get angry.

Afraid the party that had barely held together would fall apart.

Not that I could blame them.

After all, keeping the party together by making me the scapegoat was something I had wanted, and it was a valid strategy in the game.

But I wasn’t made of stone; it did sting.

After all, I’m still human.

All three are beautiful women, and in the beginning, we did get along fairly well.

When Claire, the chosen hero who pulled the Hero’s Sword, expressed her gratitude, always apologizing for not being able to give me the divine blessing exclusive to the hero party.

The proud knight Leventia, though reserved, would help me increase my reputation in the city to achieve accomplishments, even if it meant helping others.

Elf archer Evangeline, who laughed brightly at my lute performances and songs, even offered to make me an honorary elf after we spent a festival event together.

But as time went on, the main story’s journey became so harsh and grueling that they all changed.

What good would it do to dwell on the past?

“Haa… anyway, since we’ve defeated the demon king, let’s return to the capital.”

The hero party’s duty is to defeat the demon king.

Now that it’s done, each of them can return to where they belong.

The hero will return to the kingdom as a legend.

The knight will go back to her order.

The elf… well, probably back to the forest. Or she could remain in the kingdom.

After all, having achieved the great accomplishment of defeating the demon king as members of the hero party, they’ll all be highly regarded.

But not me.

I was never an official member and have no interest in such things.

“Well then. Let’s get going.”

As Leventia and Evangeline’s scolding ended unusually quickly, Claire anxiously urged us, glancing back and forth.

The hero-exclusive portal spell connecting to the capital was ready. Claire looked at me with hopeful eyes, but…

Hmm…

“You have a rotten mind. When you return to the knight order, I’ll make you my squire and retrain you properly. Follow me.”

“I think it would be better for you to serve as a forest keeper.”

“Would a kingdom soldier suit him? Or maybe he could work as a servant at my estate.”

“Couldn’t we discuss that later?”

“If the hero says so, I’ll accept.”

“An honorary elf like you should protect a dim-witted human like him.”

After defeating the demon king, they started discussing my future plans as if I wasn’t even there.

As the knight’s squire? No, perhaps a servant of the knight order.

Or maybe I should be their cook since I could at least handle that.

Or perhaps I should tend to trees in the forest.

Or serve as a kingdom soldier.

As they babbled on, and as Claire watched helplessly, I laughed.

“All right, everyone. Let’s gather around for a moment.”

“Oh? Have you decided? Surely it’s to the knight order, where your twisted mentality can be…”

“No, the forest, you idiot! The nobility of the forest is the only way for this fool to become a proper human.”

Still clearly stressed, they passionately debated my future.

But their ideas were far from what I intended to do.

Doing such things wouldn’t earn me any accomplishments.

I checked my remaining accomplishments. I’d achieved all the main story accomplishments, which required accompanying the hero party to defeat the demon king.

All that remained were the accomplishments achievable in Adventure Mode after defeating the demon king, things I’d yet to complete.

So there was no reason to stick with the hero party anymore.

Since I’d defeated the demon king, I had no reason to stay with them.

I smiled at them, feeling incredibly free.

“It’s been great working with you all. From here on, let’s each live our lives!”

Not that it was all that enjoyable.

But what can you say when parting ways?

“…What? S-Sage. Hyun Woo… what do you mean…?”

“Let’s do our cheer one last time before we go!”

Chapter 5 of the main story.

Before things got awkward, we used to cheer each other on when times got tough.

I extended my hand, though they looked at me, puzzled.

“Come on! Today is better than yesterday! Tomorrow will be better than today!”

“…..”

“One! Two! Three! Fighting!”

Only I cheered, only I raised my hand.

The hero released her grip from the portal sword, the knight furrowed her brows in confusion, and the elf gritted her teeth.

“H-Hyun Woo… Sage… why are you…?”

“What? We’ve defeated the demon king, so we’re done. Let’s each go our own way.”

“What… what are you saying?!”

“Uh… Hyun Woo? No, I mean… Sage? What’s going on…?”

The hero spoke in a hesitant, subdued voice.

“Oh? Now that we’ve defeated the Demon King, there’s no reason for us to stick together anymore. Let’s each go our separate ways.”

“W-What… what are you saying?!”

Finally realizing my intent, Leventia shouted, and I just shrugged.

“Didn’t I say from the start that I’d only stay until the Demon King was defeated?”

“There’s still much to be done!”

“Probably.”

Though the Demon King was gone, monsters still remained. And it was true that the hero party’s strength would be needed to deal with them.

“But you all…”

There was no reason for me to go with them any further.

The reason was simple.

It didn’t count toward my achievements.

I had no interest in anything other than collecting every accomplishment required to escape this damn world.

“…You’re lying, right?”

The elf archer, who had revoked my honorary elf title and taken to calling me an idiot, looked visibly shaken.

Her usual haughty and proud eyes were trembling.

“You’re lying. Idiot human, you’re joking even now? Fine. It may be a great honor, but I’ll grant you the title of honorary elf again…”

“No, no. I don’t care about being an honorary elf or whatever.”

Claire’s crimson eyes wavered.

Though a hero, her timid nature made her fearful of me leaving.

“Hyun Woo, about… everything that’s happened so far…”

“After following us around so shamelessly, you’re just going to run away?!”

Leventia yelled, declaring that I had a rotten spirit, that I needed proper training, that I’d better serve as her squire or as a servant in some noble house.

It was her stubborn pride—the shield she’d made to protect herself from the pain and suffering of the hero’s journey, using me as a release for her stress and frustration. Evangeline began her own tirade, unsure if she wanted me to stay or leave.

“But even so… we each got what we wanted, right?”

You, as the hero’s party, wanted to defeat the Demon King.

And so, through this arduous journey, you vented your built-up frustration and stress onto me.

I, on the other hand, wanted to complete the main story, defeat the Demon King, and achieve my accomplishments.

So I sacrificed three years of my life to support you all in your journey.

It was a clean, fair trade.

Just as you leave the store after buying your goods, our objectives are complete, and so it should end.

Mentioning this simple truth, Claire’s expression grew visibly distressed.

“Hyun Woo, let me apologize… Tia and Eva aren’t usually like this…”

“Oh, no, no. It’s fine.”

The game’s system limited party members to three.

The fact that I was even here was thanks to a loophole.

The declining affection and rising stress were clearly displayed in the game stats, so I could understand their behavior up to now.

Though, after all I went through, I could still fill pages with curses, but they still have things I need them to do, so I’ll let it slide.

“…”

Unlike me, who had resolved everything, the hero party members looked utterly bewildered.

For years, I’d silently followed along, no matter how they acted, dumped chores on me, or failed to acknowledge my contributions.

And now I was rejecting their offered positions and walking away, so no wonder they were confused.

“Anyway, thanks for all the hard work… Good luck with the remaining monsters! I’m sure you’ll all do great!”

Yes, they’d be fine.

They’d leveled up a lot and gained plenty of experience, and they had the army’s support.

“Wait, how are you planning to leave? You’re so worked up right now; let’s talk this over… You need the portal to get back, don’t you? Are you planning to walk all the way back to the capital? Come on, let’s head back together and talk…”

We were in the middle of the Black Continent, teeming with monsters.

The portal was the only way back to the kingdom, and only the hero could cast it. Without her permission, I’d be stuck here.

“Phew… Let’s calm down and discuss this! If you don’t like the idea of being a squire, we could consider making you a knight…”

“…No way. Why now? If being an honorary elf doesn’t suit you…”

Perhaps realizing that I was serious, the three tried to convince me with rewards that held little meaning to me.

Like throwing bread to a tiger and expecting it to be satisfied.

“I don’t need a portal to go back.”

“…What? That’s… impossible.”

“Don’t worry about me. Go back and collect your reward for defeating the Demon King. And while we probably won’t meet again, I wish you blessings on your journey.”

I held up the ring on my finger.

A teleportation ring.

An artifact I’d received after completing an achievement.

It allowed me to travel to any village I’d previously visited.

Seeing this, the faces of the three women turned pale as the sky.

“Wait!! Hold on! We need to talk…!!”

The knight, the archer, and even the hero all tried to grab me.

“Hands off.”

I shrugged them off.

Whether it was from the pain of rejection, the shock of my refusal, or seeing me look at them as if they were worthless, rather than with the usual smile, I didn’t know.

But their faces contorted with anxiety.

“Well, goodbye then!!”

Just before the magic activated, I saw their eyes shake.

I saw them reach out again to grab me.

And in that moment, I knew for sure.

This goodbye would hurt them.

But…

What does that matter to me?

We weren’t all that happy together to begin with.