I Became the Hero Who Banished the Protagonist

The interview with the first candidate didn’t last long. I flipped through the paper and recited the interview questions in a mechanical voice.

“Do you have any other specialties?”
“Alchemy. I can brew healing potions.”
       
Mary Astrus answered my question with a hint of irritation in her voice. The look on her face said, ‘Do I even have to answer these questions?’ She’s been traveling the world since graduating from the Magic Tower. She has red hair and a beautiful face. She looked like a poisonous rose.
       
She was also a party member that Elroy let in after kicking Arjen and Iris out in [I will never go back]. Georg seemed impressed with her skills, and after the interview, he turned to me.
       
“Elroy, this wizard doesn’t seem to be too bad. Listen, I’ll put you on the waiting list for now, and you can contact me at….”
“I’m afraid to say this, but we’ll see you next time.”
       
I cut him off without a second thought, and I could feel Georg’s expression rotting in real time as he stood beside me. I could also hear him muttering profanities. Well, it couldn’t be helped. In the original novel, he only recruited party members, some with less than stellar characters, when the hero’s party began to fall apart. The wizard who mumbled something about going back and leaving the room was the same evil person who had taken advantage of Georg at will.
       
‘I saved you, asshole.’
       
I snorted inwardly as Georg looked at me with scary eyes. His troubles in the original were somewhat self-inflicted.         

“…You weren’t going to listen to me in the first place.”

“It’s only the first person. If you’re going to put everyone you see on a waiting list, why are you even interviewing? Let’s just make a party with 50 people.”
       
I looked down at the paper with the list of participants and called for the next applicant.
       
“Next applicant, please come in.”
       
But the next applicant, and the next, and the next, have yet to make it to the hold list. I flicked through the applicants like I was flipping through the pages of a boring book. Georg wanted to put some people on the waitlist, others he didn’t. Some were adventurers who had gotten in as members of the hero’s party in the original, and some were villains who had gotten in the way of the main characters.
       
“I’ll see you next time.”
       
I dismissed this participant with a half-worn voice. Georg crossed his arms and shook his head in disbelief. He didn’t seem to be expecting it.
       
“Who the hell do you want that you’d throw out all the contestants so far?”
       
I put down my pen and stretched my arms.
       
“Well, for starters, there hasn’t been one so far. If you’re good, you’re good; if you’re not good, you’re not good.”

“You say there’s no one to replace Arjen and Iris, but your eyes are set too high. Now you’ll have contestants dropping out in the middle, and you still won’t pick anyone?”
       
Georg shook his head in disbelief. Georg was right; we were getting people who didn’t show up when we called them. It doesn’t really matter because if they were going to give with just this, I wouldn’t have tried to recruit them in the first place.
       
“It’s about time they came.”
       
However, I soon remembered that the “person” might be swayed by this crowd and turn back. I scanned the list of applicants and realized they were next in line.
       
“Next applicant, please come in.”
       
Feeling a little nervous, I called out to the next applicant. ‘They’re coming.’ I tried not to let it show on my face, but a cold sweat rolled down my back, and my heart was pounding against my left ribs.
       
‘Please, please come.’
       
My wishes have now turned into respectful pleas. A breathless tension that made every second feel like an hour. However, the corner of my mouth raised slightly at the sound of someone pacing in front of the doorway.
       
Knock Knock
       
It was followed by the door slowly opening. I watched as I slowly saw a woman with light pink hair standing with her hands clasped together. She turned her trembling violet eyes to me. The original Elroy, this hero bastard, would have been annoyed by her trembling, but I couldn’t help but find the cowardice of her behavior endearing.
       
“Daphne Epifon, right?”
       
At my question, Daphne paled a bit but nodded her head vigorously. I gestured to a chair, resisting the urge to tell her she was hired and could start tomorrow.
       
“Please have a seat.”
       
Daphne nodded again, walked over to the chair, and sat down. The slight sway in her step made her seem nervous. I barely caught the smile that threatened to show on my face. I gave Daphne plenty of time to catch her breath.

In [I will never go back], Elroy makes two fatal mistakes after losing Arjen and Iris.
       
First, he recruited the wrong people to join his party. Mary Astrus, the first interviewee, is an excellent example of this.
       
“What made you want to join our party?”
“Oh, it was… it was….”
       
The second mistake Elroy made was,

“While I have a sense of duty to save, no, protect the world.”
       
That he didn’t choose for her.
       
“I also wanted to take this opportunity to change myself, so….”
       
Daphne Epifon. Fourth Circle. A hapless wizard who locked herself away in a tower to study magic, only to be excommunicated by the tower master, who was jealous of her talent. She would become the only 8th circle wizard in [I will never go back] and is one of the heroines in Arjen’s party. The one who would become Arjen’s greatest ally in defeating the Seven Calamities.
       
“Well, I mustered up the courage to apply.”
       
Daphne’s voice shrank into a mouse hole at the end. She’d joined Arjen’s party after being rejected from the hero’s open recruitment. Not only was she rejected, but she was subjected to personal attacks and insults during her interview.

“What aspect of yourself did you want to change?”

And I wouldn’t make that mistake.

*** Daphne’s POV ***
I am a coward.

Could you call it a weak heart or one that is not hard enough? The talents of an archmage are too much for a girl who grew up in an uneventful family in a rural village. Magic and mana were as natural to her as breathing, and she hid and hid and hid the fact that she could use magic. Because she realized that if anyone ever found out, she would never be able to live a normal life.

‘I was just trying to protect my family.’
One day, when a demon attacked our village, she used my magic to defend against it. Then, the village sent her to the Magic Tower as if to cast her out.

“You will continue your studies.”

Her magic professor, excited by the brilliant student at first, soon became wary of her. She didn’t ask, but she knew why. The eyes of the professor who wanted to send her to a research position were exactly the same as those of the villagers.

The rejection, not the scorn, weakened her more than anything else. She didn’t belong anywhere. She continued to shrink. She locked herself away, believing that her gift was a shackle. Her growth in magic stagnated and weakened, so she was forced to wander after graduating from the Magic Tower.

“Daphne, if you’re going to stay behind like that, just get lost.”
“What are you so scared of that you can’t even use your magic, and you’re just shaking?”

The men were stunned by Daphne’s appearance but hadn’t commented on it out of respect. But eventually, they began to grow irritated at her continued mistakes. Perhaps they were annoyed that Daphne, regardless of her skills or demeanor, didn’t fall for their repeated flirtations.

“You’ve been flirting with our leader with your face and body, right?”
“If you have nothing better to do, stop being an adventurer and work in a brothel. You’ll be well received there.” 

And the women crowded around her in jealousy. Rumors spread like wildfire, not only within the party but to other adventurers as well. Words cut sharper than knives, whether directed at Daphne or the small talk amongst themselves.

It wasn’t the monsters that scared her from using her magic correctly. It was herself and those who looked at her.

“I took you in because you had the ability, but how did you graduate from the Magic Tower?”
“Don’t come to our party again; you don’t have a place here.”

She was afraid to belong somewhere and was tormented by the fact that she couldn’t be with anyone. Daphne was so crushed between fear and pain that she could barely breathe. She did what anyone could do: she took on simple requests and solved them independently.

I am a coward.

One night she was drinking alone, pulling her hood tight so no one would recognize her. She was in the adventurer’s guild. It was in an uproar, but it wasn’t for the usual reason. Every adventurer’s eyes were glued to the bulletin board. Daphne stood at a distance to avoid making a mess and glanced over to see what was posted.

『      
    [Urgent] Hero Party, hiring 1 or 2 members.
       
    Eligibility: Mages of 4th circle or higher, or those with 2 years of experience doing commissions solo.
  』

Daphne’s eyes landed on the recruitment notice for the Heroic Party.

“Hey, it’s been a while since the guild has been this busy.”

“Well, I’m not sure how many of those guys looking at that recruitment are qualified.”

As the adventurers who had checked out the requirements wandered off, Daphne was still standing, staring at the notice. A white sheet of paper with no explanation, just the qualifications and the time and place of the interview. Due to her intoxication, Daphne’s mind wandered. ‘Could I be with someone again?’

‘Just one last time.’

The interview was tomorrow. She stared at the announcement for a long time, then quietly left the guild without anyone noticing.

The next day.

‘I must be crazy.’

Daphne’s courage only lasted until the sun rose. The main street of Royal Capital is lined with dozens of skilled adventurers. Overwhelmed, Daphne stared blankly at the chattering adventurers, each of whom was no worse than her. The resolve she had so firmly established this morning slowly began to crumble.

“… That’s why it’s a good thing I got this chance.”
“I’d like to see the hero’s face. And the saint’s, too.”

She didn’t want to stay in the line. She was as good as them, if not better, but she was too scared to show her full potential. There seemed no reason for a hero to choose her. Her feet could not decide whether to stay in the queue or take the path home until she could not leave, pinned between others who had begun to line up behind her.

‘Crazy, stupid, Daphne.’

Her mind went blank. She couldn’t think of anything. Daphne’s vision swirled as other applicants pushed her into the building. A few people looked at her questioningly, and those who knew the rumors about her frowned or sneered.
   
‘I have to go back, I have to go back.’

The anxiety that had already begun to creep up on her began to take over. Her ears were listening to everything happening in the interview room.

“I’m afraid not, but we’ll see you next time.”
“You’ve been eliminated. Please go home.”
“Thank you for your efforts. We’ll see you next time.”

Rejection, rejection, and more rejection.

Her face was slowly turning white, and all the while, her turn was fast approaching. “This isn’t worth it, I’m leaving.” Someone inside whispered that, but my body went completely rigid, and I didn’t move. Even as several people gave up and left the interview room, she remained seated, unmoving.

‘Why, why won’t you leave, Daphne?’

She couldn’t understand herself. She didn’t know if she still had something to look forward to or was too scared to get up and leave.

“Next candidate, please come in.”

Someone patted Daphne on the back. Only then did she realize it was her turn, and she scrambled to her feet and made her way to the door. Barely able to get her hand over the door, she knocked and opened it.

“Daphne Epifon, right?”

The hero looked at her through the open door with a warm gaze she’d never seen before