Chapter 43: Tina's Past

Tina's eyes welled with tears. I grasped her hand.

“Are you okay? You don’t have to force yourself to talk about this.”

“No, I want Halt-sama to hear my story.”

So Tina continued on.

“At the time when Sarion was not in the mansion due to some errands, we were attacked by the group of Elf supremacists. Mother and Father were murdered. Because of my divine protection, they weren’t able to kill me, so I was sold to humans as a slave, instead.”

Even if she had that Divine Protection, she was just a small girl at that time. She did not have the ability nor did she have the power to fight, so she can do nothing but watch as her parents were slain right before her eyes.

How painful that must be. I’m sure she had been miserable. I squeezed Tina’s hand.

“After I was sold as a slave, there was news of the Demon King's revival. There was great turmoil in this country. That was because if no Heroes came from the other world, I would be the only trump card to defeat the Demon King.”

The Demon King was under the protection of the Evil God. It will be impossible to inflict damage on that protection without negating it first. The only ones who can do that are the so-called Heroes.

The Elf Supremacists also knew about that fact, that’s why they spared Tina just in case. But the Demon King revived earlier than they expected.

“In the midst of the uproar, the group of Elf Supremacists who persecuted my family and sold me to the slaves was incarcerated on the grounds of treason against the Kingdom. Sarion, who joined the troops that were deployed to apprehend that group, had almost killed all of them all by himself.”

Tina’s tone became lighter. Looks like Tina felt a little better because Sarion was able to avenge her.

“Afterward, there was a movement to eradicate Elf Supremacism in this Kingdom.”

“So how did you escape from slavery? Did you experience awful things while you were in slavery?”

As soon as the question left my mouth, I wanted to hit myself. She might recall all those bad memories, and I know she wouldn’t want me to hear about them.

“We were headed to the town of the human who bought me as a slave when suddenly, demons attacked the cart carrying me. All the guards and merchants were killed, and my magic was also bound by the magical choker I was wearing, so I can’t use magic, and I can’t defend myself. When I was about to be killed, a Hero rescued me.”

“A Hero did?”

When the Demon King rules and the world is filled with despair and destruction, the prayers for help coming from many people reach the gods; at that moment, that god will summon humans from the other world to become Heroes.

No Heroes should have appeared at that time because the Demon King had just revived.

“The Hero told me he heard my cry for help. He rushed to me right away, so he didn’t have the time to obtain skills from the gods.”

That Evil God summoned me, and I was taken to the Realm of the Gods, so I know. The time flows differently when in the Realm as compared to when in the Human World. The gods needed time to give skills to the Hero and to convey to him his mission.

Truth is, I think that even if the gods don't hear the pleas from the humans, maybe the Heroes are already being prepared.

If this was not done, they wouldn’t make it in time to save the world. With this explanation, all of Tina’s words fit. That hero did come to help Tina without any skill from god. That is also why the hero, who was supposed to come a few years after the revival of the Demon Lord, was able to come to Tina’s aid.

“Because the Hero did not obtain any skill from the god, he sustained heavy injuries while fighting the demons attacking me. Fortunately, Sarion got information about the human who bought me, so he was able to track me down and save the Hero’s life.”

Sarion is seriously brilliant!! He saved my wife’s life, so I don’t think I can ever treat him rudely from now on.

“The Demon King was newly revived, but eventually, the world will be thrown into chaos, so

we

really need to become stronger.”

“By ‘we’, do you mean you and that Hero?”

“Yes, that is correct. It may be incomplete, but I have the power inherited from the Heroes. Even though he is a hero, he cannot use his powers. If we worked together, we thought we could destroy the Demon King. We trained day by day under Sarion.”

Tina probably felt she had to take responsibility because she thought she was the reason that Hero had reincarnated in his weak condition.

“In the end, those Heroes who obtained skills from the god reincarnated three years later, and the Demon King was slain quite easily. At that time, the hero who was with me all the time finally returned to the original world.”

Tina anxiously waited for my reaction after she narrated her story.

“Thanks for sharing that with me.”

I hugged Tina closer.

“I already said this before, but from now on, I will protect Tina.”

“…Halt-sama”

“Whatever happens, I won’t let you suffer ever again.”

I said that as if I was also reaffirming my resolve to myself.