Exiled to the Graveyard of Heroes, I Revived Them All and Now an Unprecedented Nation of Legends Has Been Born - Chapter 19:  The Hero of [Resurrection] and the Suspicious Angel

Chapter 19:  The Hero of [Resurrection] and the Suspicious Angel

A few days had passed since Prince Noel and the army of the Principality of Bandelt arrived.

They still hadn’t gone back.

If they returned home immediately, there was no telling what kind of pressure the Ixion Kingdom might put on them.

That said, leaving them camped out in the open felt cruel, so for now I let them stay in the town around the tower.

And for some reason, the Bandelt soldiers’ opinion of me kept climbing higher.

“Lord Elott’s a good guy, huh. Never thought I’d go on an expedition and not have to camp outside—plus I get to eat good food every day.”

“Actually, five years ago during that wyvern mess, he saved me when things got bad. Honestly… he was my first love.”

“Wait, you’re a guy… well, whatever. Not my place to judge. But you’d better keep that to yourself. Lord Elott doesn’t seem like the type to swing that way.”

“Still, those Ixion bastards are the worst. They slapped false charges on Lord Elott, then stoned him to death. I hear the other heroes were treated the same way too.”

“They don’t even seem human.”

Since Bandelt had suffered plenty from Ixion’s unreasonable demands, the soldiers naturally slipped into gossip, badmouthing the kingdom.

Honestly, I wanted to join in myself.

But thanks to certain circumstances… I couldn’t.

The reason was—

“Mister, if something’s troubling you, please tell me.”

“Uh, um, Silesta? Like I keep saying, I don’t have any worries, okay?”

Silesta loomed over me, radiating that overwhelming aura that didn’t take no for an answer.

For the past few days, she’d been like this—seizing every little chance to try and drag a “worry” out of me.

But here’s the thing: I didn’t have any worries.

Well, if I had to name one, it’d be the endless hero scuffles I had to break up day and night. But once those were handled, I was basically left twiddling my thumbs.

So really, there was nothing worth confiding in anyone about.

“…Alright, fine. I’ll just say it straight. Mister, is it true you can’t taste food properly?”

“…Huh?”

“I heard it from the Hero of [Cooking]. Apparently, he once mixed up sugar and salt in your meal. When I tried that same dish, it was so bad I nearly threw up.”

Ah, right—the Hero of [Cooking], the one I resurrected not too long ago.

His skills were extraordinary. He could take the foul, revolting meat of abyss monsters and somehow make it taste delicious.

And yet he had supposedly mixed up sugar and salt?

As Silesta’s sharp gaze bore into me, I panicked and blurted out a lie.

“Uh—now that you mention it, I might’ve noticed once that the taste was a little… off…”

“Mm. Well, according to the Hero of [Cooking], ever since then he’s occasionally been serving you intentionally bad dishes. Not just once or twice, either.”

“……”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“It wasn’t really affecting my life, and… I didn’t want to worry anyone.”

The moment I said that, Silesta’s expression visibly darkened.

“Mister. To you, what are we?”

“What do you mean? Of course I think of you all as precious companions…”

“Then you should’ve told us. Or… are we companions not worth trusting?”

“N-No, never!! That’s not it at all!!”

What was I supposed to say here?

To me, it hadn’t seemed like something worth bringing up, but apparently it had really shocked Silesta.

In the end, the best thing I could do was apologize honestly.

“…I’m sorry, Silesta.”

“Mm. If you’re reflecting on it, then I’ll forgive you. But from now on, I want you to say everything. To me, and to everyone else too.”

“…In that case, can I start right away?”

“What is it?”

“Please stop challenging Rocoro to duels every single day. Having to resurrect the heroes who get caught up in your fights is a huge hassle.”

“…I walked right into that one.”

After that, I went around and gave Silesta—and all the other problem children among the heroes—a proper scolding.

I laid into them for quite a while, so maybe, just maybe, their reckless antics would calm down for a bit.

“…Ugh. Anyway, mister. Do you have any idea what caused you to lose your sense of taste?”

When my round of lectures finally ended, Silesta pressed the issue again.

Any idea, huh?

Truth was, one day I’d simply noticed I couldn’t taste anything anymore. There hadn’t been any clear trigger.

“…Ah.”

“Mister? Did you remember something?”

“N-No, nothing. It’s not like I’m sure of it anyway.”

“Tell me.”

Backed into a corner by Silesta’s unrelenting stare, I finally ended up spilling the truth.

“Your sense of taste disappeared after Zona kissed you?”

“W-Well… yeah. I mean, I’m not completely sure, though.”

Up until the beastmen settlement started serving proper meals, I’d been eating nothing but abyss monster meat.

Meat so foul you had to shut off your brain just to choke it down.

But after that kiss from Zona… I suddenly stopped finding it disgusting.

At first, I thought maybe my tongue had just gotten used to the nastiness, but…

“…Suspicious. Who even is Zona, anyway?”

“She said she was an angel serving the goddess.”

“Mm. Then when Zona comes back, I’ll interrogate her. I’ll force her to admit what she did to you.”

“W-Wait, no violence, please!!”

And just then—

“What matter concerns me?”

“Eh!? Zona!?”

“Wait, and… is that Ayla’s head!?”

Zona walked into my room, casually carrying Ayla’s severed head and torso tucked under one arm.

The sheer amount of information hitting me all at once completely scrambled my brain.

“My king, forgive me. An unforeseen event occurred, and I failed.”

“R-Report later!! First, let me revive Ayla!!”

“…Please.”

I hurried to resurrect Ayla, and her eyelids slowly fluttered open.

“Oh my… I…”

“You’re awake?”

“…Uuh… uuu…”

“““!?”””

The moment she came back to life, Ayla suddenly burst into tears.

D-Did she really die in such a painful way it left her crying even after resurrection?

“Ahh… how tragic. My love… it didn’t reach that person… Then I’ll just have to give them even more love!!”

Ah. Never mind.

I had no clue who “that person” was, but apparently she was crying for reasons far beyond my comprehension.

Best not to poke that hornet’s nest.

“Elott!! I’m going on a journey!! To spread even more love to the world!!”

“Uh, okay. …Wait—huh!?”

Before I could stop her, Ayla bolted out of the room in a dramatic rush.

“My Lord, I have a request.”

“Huh? Ah, yes? What is it?”

“There is something I must do. Please grant me some time off.”

“Time off? Well, I don’t mind, but…”

“Before that, Zona—you need to answer us.”

“What is it, silver-haired pervy tomboy?”

Zona tilted her head innocently, but Silesta stepped in close, radiating enough killing intent to mean business if things went south.

“Ever since you kissed Elott, he’s lost his sense of taste. If you did something, confess.”

“…”

“What’s wrong? Can’t answer?”

Under Silesta’s glare, Zona finally spoke.

“Nope. Don’t know what you’re talking about. Kinda scary, honestly.”

“You really don’t know?”

“My duty is to serve the king. I would never do anything to harm him.”

“…Doesn’t seem like she’s lying.”

Silesta eased off, the murderous glare melting away.

For me, both Silesta and Zona were important comrades, so I was glad they didn’t end up fighting.

That aside—

“By the way, Zona, what’s this thing you said you had to do?”

“It’s nothing that concerns the king.”

“Don’t say that—please tell me. If something else happens later, I don’t want to have to suspect you.”

“…My king, has your attitude changed?”

“Yeah, well… I got lectured by the others, so I’ve been thinking differently lately.”

Zona seemed unable to avoid my questioning and answered honestly.

“Something like cleaning up after my own kind, I suppose.”

“Cleaning up after them?”

“We, the angels—and by extension the goddess—have enemies operating within the Ixion Kingdom. I thought they were wiped out four thousand years ago, but they survive. As an angel, I have an obligation to annihilate them.”

“Then should we help?”

“Heroes can’t match them. They’re literally on a different level. Besides, this is simply dealing with what should have been handled four thousand years ago. Your Majesty should focus on what you must do.”

“…I see. Understood.”

Zona looked resolved, so after I shared what information I’d learned in the capital, I silently sent her on her way.

Still—there was a nagging feeling I’d forgotten something…

“E-Elott!! T-This is bad!!”

“Tiara? Why are you in such a panic?”

“Ayla is giving a speech to all the Bandelt soldiers!! Even your friend Noel is acting weird!!”

“Ah—!? O-Okay, have every battle-ready hero take her down at least once!!”

What followed was three whole days of civil war inside the city.

But thanks to Rocoro and Iltar, we somehow managed to take Ayla down and prevent disaster.

For a while, I honestly considered just leaving her dead.

But… that felt too cruel, so instead I put her under house arrest.

She didn’t have a shred of malice in her—

Which honestly made her even scarier.

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[Afterword]

Quick Mob Hero Spotlight

The Hero of [Cooking]

He has the power to infuse food with effects like boosting physical ability or healing minor injuries.

His greatest joy is watching people enjoy his meals, and he’s inseparable best friends with the Hero of [Field], who grows fresh veggies.

After learning Elott couldn’t taste anything, he’s been experimenting nonstop to somehow force Elott to say, “Delicious!”

According to him: “Cooking isn’t just about taste—it’s also about appearance, smell, sound, and texture. Any of those can make food feel delicious.”

And honestly, his skill is no joke. He can turn abyss monster meat—so foul it makes you gag—into a dish fit for a feast.

…Though sometimes he makes beginner mistakes like mixing up sugar and salt.

If you thought this mob hero was funny, don’t forget to drop those ★s!

And if you found yourself thinking things like, “Friends should always be honest with each other,” “Ayla is way too much of a troublemaker lol,” or “Noel getting brainwashed cracked me up,” —then please leave a comment, bookmark, ★rating, or review!