Because of the Hero Summoned from Another World, I Got Replaced and Made the Backup—And My Childhood Friend the Saintess… - Chapter 01: The Future Hero Candidate

Act 01: Hero Candidate

Chapter 01: The Future Hero Candidate

My parents died when I was little.

A plague swept through our village and took them.

I’d been born in some freezing, forgotten countryside—there was nothing I could do.

No parents.

Most of the village was wiped out by the disease.

And as if that wasn’t bad enough, monsters started showing up too.

Even as a kid, I sort of understood.

“I’m gonna die here, aren’t I?”

Just some dumb brat from the sticks—no education, no future, no way out.

I hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days.

Spent all my time hiding, scared out of my mind that a monster might spot me.

Like staying quiet was enough to keep me alive.

No food.

No clean water.

I was licking muddy puddles just to stay alive.

My breathing was getting shallow.

My vision blurred.

My body stopped listening to me.

But of course it did.

It’s not like someone who’s ready to give up can magically find the strength to go on.

It wasn’t like I wanted to die.

I really did want to live.

I just… couldn’t anymore.

Then one day, the place I was hiding in got found.

A monster burst in—fangs bared—coming straight at me.

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t scream.

All I could do was watch.

And just when I thought it was all over—

A prince saved me.

He wasn’t even that much older than me.

But his eyes burned with strength and conviction.

He looked like someone who truly wanted to live.

“Don’t leave a single villager behind! Wipe out every last monster! Search for survivors!”

He barked orders at knights who were all older and way bigger than him.

And in that moment, I saw it.

Hope.

Because of his orders… I was saved.

“You’re the one… I see.”

When the prince looked at me after I’d been rescued, he gave a small nod—like something had just clicked for him.

I didn’t understand what he meant back then.

But later, he told me everything.

“Will you come with me?”

He held out his hand.

And I took it.

This man had saved my life.

If it weren’t for him, I would’ve died in that village without anyone ever knowing my name.

So I made a decision.

If I’d been granted a second chance…

Then I would devote this life to him.

The moment our hands met, that resolve was set in stone.

And just like that—

I was brought to the royal castle… as a future Hero candidate.

The first things that welcomed me at the castle?

Warm meals.

A safe, cozy bed.

And after that…

Relentless education and brutal training.

They drilled me on the kingdom’s history, geography, economics, noble houses, court etiquette, table manners… reading, writing, math—everything.

For a kid from some snowy backwater village, it all might as well have been in a foreign language. I struggled hard.

Since I lived in the castle, of course all my teachers were nobles.

To them, I was just some random commoner.

I’m pretty sure they looked down on me.

But that’s just how nobles are.

It’s not like they were bad people.

Actually… I think they were even kind to me, in their own way.

They were strict.

Brutally strict.

Even when I cried, they never let up.

But when I worked hard and showed results, they always recognized it.

They even praised me.

“If you don’t want to be embarrassed later in life… Then go ahead and embarrass yourself as much as you need to right now.”

That was something my teacher always said to me.

If I ever did anything embarrassing, they’d scold me hard—no mercy.

But honestly, they weren’t wrong.

Alongside all the studying, I was also getting trained—combat training, of course.

I mean, I was a “Hero candidate.”

What else would I be doing?

Apparently, by the time I reached adulthood, something called the Demon King was going to make a comeback.

“Demon King” isn’t actually its real name.

No one knows what it’s really called.

They just started calling it that because… well, it controls monsters.

It’s not literally the king of monsters or anything, but the name gets the point across.

Anyway, once that thing revives, it’s going to pose a massive threat to humanity.

The plan is to eliminate it the moment it shows up.

Naturally, the kingdom’s already doing everything it can to stop the revival.

Investigations, research, sealing rituals—you name it.

But… things aren’t going so well.

They don’t even know where it’ll reappear.

Or how to stop it.

The only reason they even know it will revive is because of something called the Divine Revelation—a message the church receives once every ten years.

It’s not like anyone figured this out through logic or science.

From what I’ve heard, regular people don’t stand a chance against this so-called Demon King.

No one really knows why.

There’s barely any solid information out there.

But apparently… I’m one of the rare few who can defeat it.

That’s why they made me… a Hero candidate.

No kid with zero combat experience can just jump into a fight and start swinging a sword like a pro.

That’s why, from the moment I arrived at the castle, it’s been nothing but constant combat training.

The castle knights took turns teaching me everything they knew.

How to build stamina.

How to take care of my body.

How to wield a sword. A spear. A bow.

How to block with a shield.

What to do if I lost my weapon.

How to fight while protecting others.

They called me a “Hero candidate,” sure…

But the truth is, I didn’t have any special gift for fighting.

I wasn’t hopeless—but to those knights, I probably looked like a clueless kid flailing around with sticks.

So I worked. Hard.

I trained like my life depended on it.

Even when I barely slept, I kept swinging swords and spears, over and over again—

Until every weapon felt like a natural part of me.

Even when I got knocked flat, again and again… I kept getting back up.

I clenched my teeth, chased after the knights, and refused to give in.

“You might not have talent… But I’ve never seen anyone with your guts. And when it comes down to it, the one still standing is the one who wins. That’s why—you can beat the Demon King.”

That’s what the Knight Commander told me one day after training.

And I’ll be honest—

Hearing that made me ridiculously happy.

The Knight Commander was a man of few words and merciless training.

He wasn’t some pampered noble—he was a self-made warrior, forged through sheer grit and effort.

All the knights looked up to him like a legend.

The nobles? Not so much.

So getting praised by him?

That was something worth bragging about.

The knights who’d trained me all this time felt like family.

They cheered me on, genuinely happy that the Commander had recognized me.

The reason I could keep getting back up—no matter how many times I got knocked down—

Wasn’t just grit or determination.

I mean, let’s be real—I’m only human.

When your body takes enough hits, at some point, it just stops working.

But every time I reached that point…

There was someone who picked me back up.

A girl I met after coming to the castle.

Someone about my age.

Her name was Arianna.

She was known as the “Saintess,” officially recognized by the church.

Since members of the church don’t use family names, “Arianna” was her full name.

She had this beautiful silver hair that glimmered softly in the sunlight,

And her deep red eyes carried a quiet strength.

She always moved with grace.

She was kind to everyone, yet firm in her beliefs—

A surprisingly composed, mature girl for her age.

Apparently, throughout history, Heroes and Saints often ended up getting married.

There’s no rule or law saying they have to, but if you flip through the old records, you’ll see it’s happened more than a few times.

So naturally, people started saying that Arianna and I would probably end up together too.

Not that I ever thought about her because of that.

But still…

I did have feelings for her.

She was close to my age.

Always there for me, quietly supporting me through every punishing day of training.

Healing my injuries.

Kind, thoughtful… and honestly, really cute.

I mean, come on.

What teenage guy wouldn’t fall for a girl like that?

“Please don’t push yourself too hard, okay? I know training’s important, but it doesn’t mean anything if you end up collapsing from it.”

“Sorry. I’ll be more careful.”

“You said that last time too! And look at you now—completely wrecked again!”

Whenever we had a bit of free time, Arianna and I would sneak away to a quiet corner of the castle—just the two of us.

A little break from everything.

I really liked those moments with her.

I hoped she did too.

Whenever we talked, her expression always seemed a little softer than usual—gentler than the one she showed others.

I liked to think maybe… I gave her some peace, too.

“Hey… do you think we’ll get married in the future?”

“Whoa, where did that come from?”

“No reason. Just… wondering. I mean, who knows what the future holds, but everyone kind of assumes we will.”

“Would you hate it? Marrying me, I mean.”

“Fufu… who knows—?”

She smiled at me—soft and warm—and my heart just about jumped out of my chest.

And just like that…

That’s how my days passed by—living life as a Hero candidate.