Chapter 38 What Happened to the Heroes Afterward
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The scene shifts to the Kingdom of Dole.
Summoned to the Commander’s office, the Hero stood before the desk, his face ashen.
”You’re here. It’s a royal decree,” the Commander said. “It’s time you finally took the field.”
”—-!”
Those were the words he had lived in fear of. Hurry up and get strong so you can be sent to the front. It was the only thing they ever told him.
The Hero’s face contorted as he realized the time had finally come. It was a deal he had originally agreed to, however. He couldn’t back out now.
”I… I understand,” the Hero replied.
”Don’t look so pathetic. With your skills, you won’t die-provided you actually have the stones to kill the enemy, that is.”
The Hero fell silent.
”Hmph, same as always. Why can’t you be more like the Saint?” the Commander added.
It was true. The Saint had already adapted to this country. By following her handlers’ orders and building her reputation through public duties, she had become more famous within the kingdom than the Hero himself. As a healer, she had been power-leveling by letting the Knights do the fighting while she soaked up the experience points.
The Sage had also shown a monstrous talent for magic, and her level was skyrocketing. But the Hero was different. Expecting an ordinary kid from Japan to suddenly dive into a blood-soaked melee with monsters was a joke. It was like handing a boy a sword and telling him to go one-on-one with a grizzly bear. Any sane person would refuse with every fiber of their being.
Because he had dragged his feet in the lower floors of the Dungeons, he alone was lagging behind. Still, a Hero was a Hero; he was technically stronger than any rank-and-file soldier.
He was teetering on that edge when the order finally came: To the front. Before he could spiral into despair, the door swung open.
”Ah, right on time,” the Commander noted.
It was the Sage. Her expression was cold, barely-veiled contempt as she addressed the man. “You called for me, Commander?”
”I was just telling the Hero-the Crown wants you on the front lines. The army is moving out, and that means all three of you are heading to the vanguard.”
The Sage’s forced smile tightened, but she kept her voice level. “I see.”
”One more thing. I need you both to drink this.” The man placed two small glass vials on the desk.
”What is it?” the Sage asked.
”Preventative medicine. You’re going to the front; you need to take this now. I need to witness you swallowing it to file my report.”
”Wait… does it even work if we take it now?” The Hero stammered. “The march takes days. Won’t it wear off?”
”I said it’s a preventative, not a potion. Think of it as a vaccine.”
”Oh… like a shot. Okay,” The Hero said.
The Hero seemed satisfied, but the Sage’s eyes narrowed, the tension in her jaw deepening.
”I don’t know what a ‘vaccine’ is, but it’s mandatory,” the Commander growled. “I can’t get back to work until I see you drain those bottles. So, are we doing this the easy way?”
He glared at them. the Sage stood her ground. “I can use high-tier magic. I don’t need medicine.”
”This isn’t a request. Magic can’t fix what this prevents. This is your job now. You don’t have a right to refuse.”
”I didn’t realize I’d signed away my right to say no to a mystery bottle,” the Sage shot back.
The two locked eyes, the air in the room turning brittle.
”W-wait! Stop!” The Hero cut in. “Sato is just… she’s just stressed! I’ll do it! I’ll drink mine!”
He snatched up the vial, popped the cork, and downed the contents in one go.
”There! Now you, hurry up! Drink!” the Commander snarled, thrusting the second vial toward the girl.
The Sage felt a jolt of pure instinctual dread. She looked at The Hero-and her heart froze. His face had gone completely slack.
”Yamada…?”
”Wh-at…? Sato? My head… it feels like cotton… what was I…?”
His eyes glazed over. As he slumped to the floor, the Sage turned to bolt, but she was a second too slow. A heavy arm snaked around her throat, cutting off her air. She was slammed back, fingers prying her jaws apart with bruising force. The liquid was shoved down her throat, and she had no choice but to swallow.
”Honestly, what a pain in the neck. I only called you both in at once because you’re such low-level trash I figured I could handle you at the same time,” the Commander muttered.
The Sage glared at him, her vision beginning to blur, her voice a ragged whisper. “What… what did you give us…?”
”I told you. It’s preventative. To prevent you from ever thinking about stabbing us in the back.”
As the two of them collapsed, the Commander barked orders to the guards outside.
Minutes later, the room was crowded with the kingdom’s elite. Even the King himself eventually graced the office with his presence.
”Finally. How long does it take to get a couple of ‘Heroes’ presentable?” the King asked.
”My deepest apologies, Your Majesty. They were pathetic cowards. I managed to ‘cultivate’ them by draining about half their potential, but any more and the Enslavement process would have left them as useless husks.”
The Commander deflected the King’s irritation with a sharp look at the unconscious The Hero.
”No matter. We have enough brute force. We just need them as symbols,” the King said. “This Hero will be our leash for the other nations. I’ll make that arrogant little country that refused to ‘donate’ their princess understand their place. Once their neighbors see our Heroes and turn their backs on them, they’ll realize how truly stupid they’ve been.”
The King’s laughter was a dry, rasping sound. The Prime Minister chimed in.
”Quite. We’ll have to discipline the neighbors who tried to shield them, too. The surrounding kingdoms are populated by nothing but fools.”
While they gloated, the King’s mages went to work. They peeled back the clothes of the Hero and the Sage, exposing the skin just above their pubic bones. There, they etched the Slave Crests-deliberately hidden where no one else would see their shame. The two students lay there, half-stripped and drugged, as the ink burned into their flesh.
Then came the activation.
”Accept the Enslavement! Channel your mana into the mark!”
”Ugh… ah…?”
”Do it! Accept the bond and send your power here!”
The Hero, his mind a shattered mess of drug-induced compliance, did as he was told. He reached for the mark and poured his mana into it. The Slave Crest flared with a sickening light. The contract was sealed. The Hero was now property.
Then they turned to the Sage. Even in her drunken, hazed state, she tried to fight it. But the magic in the room and the relentless, booming commands eventually broke her. She, too, surrendered.
The Slave Contracts were finalized and transferred from the mages to the King’s own ledger.
”Hahaha! Yes! Just like my grandfather before me, I am a King who owns a Hero! Splendid! Truly splendid! Commander, for your service, I’ll let you handle the ‘disposal’ of the Demi-human filth.”
The Commander’s face split into a grin of pure avarice.
”I am unworthy of such an honor, Your Majesty!”
As the King and his entourage swept out of the room, the guards hauled the Heroes away like luggage.
Left alone, the Commander let out a guttural laugh.
”Yes! Finally! The wealth… the power… Oh, but first, I need to restock the ‘merchandise.’ I’ll have to make sure my men know to bring the Demi-humans back alive this time.”
He hummed a tune as he headed for the training grounds, his mind already calculating the profit from the upcoming slave raids on the Demi-human warriors.
* * *
The Hero and the Sage were paraded through galas and ceremonies, displayed like prize stallions to foreign dignitaries. All the while, the Saint followed along, blissfully-or willfully-ignorant of the rot beneath the surface.
To the world, everything looked perfect. Behind the scenes, the Hero and the Sage were returned to a training schedule that was nothing short of torture. For one month, they were broken and rebuilt into weapons.
By the time they were ready for the front, The Hero’s combat stats rivaled the Commander’s own. He was no longer a boy; he was a tool.
”O Hero, go forth! Smite the darkness and bring peace to our world!” the King proclaimed at the departure ceremony, looking down at the kneeling The Hero with a thin, cruel smile.
”Yes, Your Majesty! I shall not fail to bring you victory!”
The Hero’s eyes were blank, devoid of even a flicker of doubt. The Sage and the Saint stood beside him, their expressions equally “perfect.”
As they left the hall, the Saint turned to the others, her voice dripping with condescending sweetness. “See? I told you two you’d eventually adapt. You just had to grow up a little.”
”Don’t you dare group me with you,” the Sage whispered. Her face was like a death mask.
She hadn’t forgotten how the Saint had turned on them weeks ago, calling them “childish” for wanting to go home. The Sage wouldn’t even look at her.
Usually, The Hero would try to keep the peace. Now, he just walked ahead, a silent, armored doll.
”Goodness,” the Saint sighed, watching them. “I thought you’d grown a bit, but you’re still such children.”
With the Dole army at their backs, the three began their march toward the Rock Valley Mountains in the Kingdom of Paul.
Disaster struck before they even arrived.
They had just crossed into the Kingdom of Karl. At Yada Village, they received frantic warnings: an emergency alert was in effect. The path ahead was suicide. But the Commander, buoyed by his new Hero weapons, ignored the locals and ordered the march to continue.
They walked straight into the jaws of a calamity.
The Orc King-the monster that Kisaragi Ibuki had left alive-was waiting for them.
”Hold! There was a village back there! Why the hell has Karl let the monsters push this far?! Idiots!” the Commander screamed, seeing the sea of Orcs but failing to spot the King lurking in their shadow.
”Sir, there are hundreds of High Species in that pack,” the vice-commander noted, his voice trembling. “There aren’t enough low-level ones mixed in. It looks like the local suppression force was completely wiped out.”
”I don’t care! Sage! You! Show me what you’re worth!” the Commander yelled, pointing his sword at the girl.
the Sage looked at the army of monsters with dead, hollow eyes. She let out a single, weary sigh and raised her hand.
A massive fireball materialized-a sphere of roiling flame the size of a manor house. It wasn’t just magic; it was a manifestation of her silent, boiling agony. She hurled the sun-like mass into the center of the monster horde. On impact, the world turned white. A pillar of hellfire erupted, incinerating the Orcs instantly.
”YEAAAH!” the soldiers roared, cheering for the Sage.
The girl stood in the center of the cheering crowd, her face an unreadable void as she watched the world burn.
The battle was over. Or so everyone thought, believing only a few stragglers remained to be hunted down. But then, the earth groaned. A massive shockwave tore through the wall of flames and smoke, and dozens of elite orcs, steam hissing from their massive frames, came charging through the haze.
”That one in the back… could it be…?” the Vice-commander whispered, his voice trembling.
The Knight Order Commander didn’t hesitate. “Form ranks, you idiots! Now!”
As the squad leaders scrambled to set their defense, the Knight Order Commander barked at the Hero and the Sage. “We’re pulling out. Stay quiet and follow me.”
”Wait! The monsters are still coming!” the Hero shouted. If those things had shrugged off an explosion like that, they were far too dangerous to leave behind.
The Commander’s face went cold. “This is a royal decree.”
The Hero’s protest died in his throat. “Understood…”
”Tell the men to buy us time,” the Commander ordered his aide. “If the line breaks, retreat to the fallback point. I’m going to find reinforcements-and then I’m going to make the Lord of Karl¹ pay for this disaster.”
With the silent Hero and Sage in tow, the Knight Order Commander led his hundred soldiers away from the carnage and toward the town of Karl. When they reached the manor, the Commander didn’t just enter; he stormed in, his voice shaking the rafters.
”What is the meaning of this?! You bastards lured those monsters right to us!”
The Lord of Karl met his rage with a chilling, measured stare. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you are implying. We already received an urgent report from Yada Village. We warned you that the area was under an emergency alert and extremely dangerous, yet you forced your way through regardless. If you chose to charge headlong into a horde of monsters, isn’t that your own mistake?”
The Commander choked on his fury. “You… how dare you take such a tone with me!”
”What tone would that be, Sir? I am simply stating that we are not at fault.”
”Don’t play games! My soldiers are out there dying!”
”Indeed. At the very location we explicitly told you to avoid. Even then, you could have bypassed the danger with a simple detour…” The Lord looked at him with profound, weary annoyance.
He had no patience for the ego of the Dole military. His town was on the brink of ruin, and he was incensed that these incompetent soldiers had brought their mess to his doorstep.
”You clearly don’t grasp the situation,” the Commander sneered. “The Hero and the Sage are under my protection. You have no idea the price you’ll pay for putting them in harm’s way.”
The Lord’s eyes widened. A flicker of calculation crossed his face. “What? You mean… these two are…?”
”That’s right! If you don’t cooperate fully, you’ll be branded an enemy of the world!”
”Oh!” The Lord stood up with sudden, sweeping grace. “If these esteemed guests are indeed the Hero and his companion, then you shall have our total support! I shall devote my entire being to your aid!”
He had what he needed: a political shield. He didn’t give the Commander a chance to recover before seizing control of the room.
”From this moment, we are at the Hero’s service. My lord, please tell us-how may we best assist you?”
”Uh, well…” the Hero stammered, caught off guard. “Protecting the town has to be the priority, right? I guess… we should start by coordinating the evacuations for the nearby villages?”
”What a merciful heart! It shall be done at once!” the Lord cried.
”Wait! Who said you could-” the Commander started, but the Lord ignored him entirely.
”It is the Hero’s wish,” the Lord replied simply.
The people of Karl had suffered under the Kingdom of Dole’s ‘Hero Summoning’² programs for years. The Lord knew the type: these Heroes were usually just naive kids being used as pawns. If he made the Hero’s word the law of the land, he could do whatever he wanted. Even the Kingdom of Dole couldn’t complain if he was “simply obeying the Hero.”
He played the perfect host, smothering the group in hospitality while effectively taking them hostage under the guise of “protection.”
Late that night, the Lord issued a frantic order to his personal guard.
”Find me every master-rank subjugator in the region! I don’t care about the cost! Borrow until we’re bankrupt if you have to-just get me the best warriors money can buy!”
He was desperate. He had only just learned of the Orc King’s³ existence from the refugees of Hasshi Village. It was only minutes ago that he realized the nightmare was real.
Not a single one of Lisha’s letters had reached his desk. Both she and the former Guildmaster had followed protocol, sending reports through the Subjugators Guild of Karl. The people of Hasshi Village thought the silence was the Lord’s decision.
In reality, the guildmaster in town was a coward. He didn’t want his guild members drafted into a bloody border war. Fearing a loss of profit and manpower, he had buried the reports and told the village to “handle it locally,” all while making it look like the Lord’s official stance.
For the Lord, this was a total blindside-and a catastrophic failure of his own administration. If he survived the orcs, the political fallout would be lethal. Having the Hero and Sage fall into his lap was a miracle, but they were green-untested and fragile.
If they died on his watch, a quick execution would be a mercy compared to what the Kingdom would do to him.
”I heard a report…” one of his guards ventured, “that a legendary-tier party from Paul is currently in the area.”
The Lord froze. “Legendary-tier? Here?”
There were only a handful of such warriors in the entire world.
”Yes, my lord. They haven’t been officially certified by the state yet, but they just broke the record for the deepest dungeon dive. Their promotion is a formality.”
”And they’re in the country right now?”
”Yes. They’re based near the border. We’ve been tracking them since they crossed over.”
The Lord’s lips curled into a predatory grin. His luck was finally turning. If he could use them to slay the Orc King, he could spin this disaster into a triumph.
”Bring them to me! Immediately!”
”Of course, my lord. But… even with the Hero here, is the situation truly that dire?”
”You fool! Look at the boy! A Hero isn’t born a god; he has to grow into one! We cannot risk him! Go! Now!”
The guard scrambled out. The Lord turned to the rest of his men.
”Where is the messenger from Hasshi Village?”
”Missing, my lord. The village girl said they left after proving they’d killed hundreds of high orcs, claiming they couldn’t do any more.”
”Damn it… if we had known then, we could have been ready…!”
”The guildmaster responsible is already in the dungeon, my lord.”
”Good! Hanging is too good for him! Sell the furniture! Sell the art! Get me more steel and more men!”
—
Summary:
The summoned Hero and Sage are drugged and forcibly enslaved by the Kingdom of Dole using magical Slave Crests. They are broken into living weapons over a month of brutal training while the Saint remains oblivious. Their first combat mission pits them against the Orc King, a calamity previously left alive by Kisaragi Ibuki.
Following a battlefield retreat, the Dole Knight Commander confronts the Lord of Karl, blaming him for the monster ambush. The Lord cleverly manipulates the young Hero’s presence to seize authority from the Commander. It is revealed that the local Guildmaster suppressed earlier warnings, leaving the Lord desperate to hire a legendary-tier party to survive the impending Orc King attack.
—
Trivia:
- The Slave Crests are placed in a highly private/humiliating location (above the pubic bone).
- The Commander ‘cultivated’ them by draining half their potential to make the enslavement easier.
- The Orc King’s presence is a direct consequence of Kisaragi Ibuki’s previous actions.
- The Hero, The Hero, has become a completely silent ‘doll’ due to the enslavement magic.
- The Saint’s leveling method (leeching XP) explains her lack of actual combat empathy.
- The Lord of Karl was actually unaware of the Orc King until the very last moment.
- Lisha’s letters were intentionally intercepted by the town’s Guildmaster.
- The ‘Legendary-tier’ party from Paul is not yet officially certified.
- The Lord is selling his own mansion’s furniture to fund the defense.
- The Knight Commander is planning to demand reparations from Karl to cover his own failure
—
Character Insight:
the Sage (Sage) shifts from active resistance to a state of ‘dead’ internal agony, her magic power now fueled by her misery. The Hero (Hero) has suffered a total loss of agency. The King and Commander reveal themselves as predatory opportunists who view the summons as livestock.
The Lord of Karl transitions from a victim of circumstance to a proactive schemer, showing he is seasoned in handling the ‘Hero’ trope to bypass foreign military interference.
—
Behind the Scenes:
This chapter highlights a common dark-isekai trope where the ‘savior’ is actually the most oppressed individual in the power structure.
The guildmaster’s betrayal highlights the common ‘corrupt middle-manager’ trope in fantasy settings, where fear of losing status leads to larger catastrophes.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Hero – Ibuki’s upperclassman from Earth—summoned as the naive Hero with emotional, mentally fragile personality. Empathetic yet reluctant and inadequate-feeling, lacking survival instincts and political skills. Currently in despair and terrified by his situation.
• Sato – Female upperclassman summoned as the Sage—a Japanese woman grounded and cautious alongside the protagonist. Highly emotional, prone to sobbing while comforting the Saint, she hides fear but seeks mutual support. Exhibits jito-eye (scornful half-closed stare) when annoyed.
• Yamada – The Hero summoned from Japan. Currently forced into a subservient role by the Kingdom of Dole through magical enslavement. Possesses high combat stats comparable to a Knight Commander after intensive training. Wears armor and carries a sword.
• Kisaragi – The family name of the protagonist Ibuki.
• Ibuki – Broke high‑schooler from Earth who got tossed into another world with the “Crafter” class he first thought was useless—turns out it’s totally busted. Black‑haired, germaphobic, and low‑key bitter but sharp as hell. Uses Synthesis, Processing, and Inventory skills to survive, craft gear, and haul loot while exploring. Currently a Level 10 otherworlder, wielding a stone axe, traveling the frontier forest with Charlotte, and just trying to stay alive long enough to find a bit of peace.
• Lisha – Mature native babe with killer curves, huge rack, long brown hair, big-sis vibes—polite shy type who hangs back gathering intel on other Heroes. Head of Sha-sha brand, acting chair, runs group logistics/training with authoritative feminine flair.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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