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The Hero-Slaying Bandit - Chapter 1: I Need to Understand the Situation

“As the monocle was equipped before it was taken, the ownership rights will be transferred. However, due to the lack of the otherworld attribute, the abilities granted will be limited. Equip?”

…For some reason, the item is talking to me. This must be the reason why that boy was mumbling to himself.

Well, I couldn’t see any reason not to, so I answered, “Equip.”

When I did, the monocle faintly shone. Then as if it melted, it vanished.

“The monocle has been equipped. So it would appear you are a human of this world. The otherworlder hero being defeated sure was unexpected.”

A voice within my mind spoke of things that I couldn’t comprehend.

“I don’t really get it, but could you explain the situation to me?”

It’s definitely an item imbued with magic or something, so in order to understand its abilities, I tried talking to it.

“I am an apostle tasked with the duty of a.s.sisting the summoned hero. Or at the very least, I was supposed to support him.”

The voice seemed to be mocking itself.

“Putting it in a roundabout way, what did Mr. Apostle want to do?”

The boy I defeated was clearly strange.

I imagine the reason is probably this item, but the information I have is too little.

So I continued to inquire while trying to put up an apathetic att.i.tude.

“What did Mr. Apostle or something... Actually, no. Forget it, it’s a pain. Rather than that, what did you do to me?”

The existence of apostles isn’t something I know. For the meantime, it seems that the voice is willing to talk, so I lent it my ear.

“As you are an actual citizen, the power granted will be limited. The abilities you received due to equipping me are ‘Appraisal Identification (The ability to see statuses and the likes) and ‘Help’.

These abilities are some of the abilities granted to a hero. They’re originally meant to be given to people who were transferred here, and turned into heroes though.”

In other words, it’s what you would call a ‘Hero Ability’. Which would mean that the person I defeated just now is that existence that I’ve once heard of before. An Otherworlder Hero.

I still have a number of questions, but there’s no reason for me to stay here in this village while it’s being pillaged. I should leave before I get caught up with this mess. To begin with, considering the fact that the battle here has reached this level, yet no reinforcements… or rather, friends, has come to aid the bandits. It should be safe to say that these bandits don’t have an organization.

If I fought them, I’m fairly certain I could kill them all, but I’d rather just make use of the chaos here, and leave. So I left.

So… the voice echoing inside my head is the effect of that ability, Help? I can’t say for sure if that’s really how it is as even I’m only able to vaguely understand it.

I carefully left the village in order to needlessly get caught up with others. After a while, I managed to get out of the village, and rest somewhere convenient.

Having reached a quiet place, I tried addressing that Help or whatever it is.

I find this way of talking strange too. But for some reason, when I equipped that item, the queerness of it all vanished.

“Help or whatever, can you explain the situation to me now?”

Although I didn’t really get it myself, I understood that I could talk with that apostle using this method.