I Got Fired as a Hero Today - Vol.1 Chapter 22: Arata, Swims in the Underground Lake

“Why?!”

Chloe protested by banging on the desk.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb! Send out the search party for Arata!”

Ah, speaking of which, Isaac takes out the documents.

“Hmm, what do we have here? Nishiyama Arata, twenty years old. Level 1, Guild Rank F, has magic power but no experience, huh?”

“That’s right. Therefore, in order to gain experience points──”

“Not needed, right? Such personnel.”

Isaac stood up from his chair, interrupted Chloe’s words, and stood in front of her.

“What we need is a level 20 or higher hero like a young lady over there.”

Isaac points to Suzu and says.

Suzu stares intently at Isaac.

“That being said, it doesn’t give us a reason to abandon him. As a hero, he should grow into a force capable of defeating the Demon King.”

Chloe stood her ground against her boss, the Sword Saint.

“Isaac-san. We were summoned as heroes, but we are Japanese.”

Suzu interjects.

“These people have originally nothing to do with this country. They won’t help because they might not be useful to Arata. In other words, this means that in the future, when we are traveling, we might also be discarded because we are not useful…”

Suzu quickly lowers her gaze. Then she shoots a sharp look at Isaac.

“Do we have a reason to fight for such a country? I would like you to answer that.”

Isaac boldly met Suzu’s gaze.

“We have no choice but to go, even if we don’t have it. You guys, that is. Otherwise, we can’t return to our original world.”

Isaac intimidates Suzu.

“Got it, young lady?”

Suzu received the remark without raising an eyebrow.

“Understood. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

She bows and leaves.

“Ah, Suzu, wait.”

Chloe is chasing after Suzu. She puts her hand on the door and looks back.

“I apologize as well. I won’t be needing your help.”

She bowed her head and left.

Isaac scratched his head.

And then, he looks at the materials again.

“A Level 1 hero, huh…”

His gaze shines sharply.

◆◆◆

After sleeping for a little while, Arata decided to swim across the underground lake.

He used the materials for the shield as firewood, but he had already burned up and turned to ash.

The clothes are still damp and cold.

However, the pain in his arm had eased compared to earlier.

“As expected, the skill [Ancient Healer] seems to have the power to heal oneself by consuming medicinal herbs.”

So far, the bones haven’t fused, but it was reassuring to be able to treat it himself.

The other day, when he wasn’t feeling well, he took some herbs and felt like he recovered, so he thought maybe…

However, even if he says it can be treated, it doesn’t seem like it will heal at a dramatic speed.

He was preparing to swim in the underground lake.

Tie the cape to make it float.

Tie the clothes on top of his head.

He drew the one-handed sword from the Blue Bear and strapped it to his waist.

He decided to leave the broadsword and plate mail behind.

“When it comes time to actually go, I’m scared.”

The underground lake is bottomless.

It’s an underground lake in another world. He had no idea what kind of creatures might be there.

He gently enters the lake.

Slowly moving forward with a one-handed breaststroke.

The water is cold. There are no waves because there is no wind.

Without any incident, he entered the narrow cave.

His feet can’t reach. The floating cloak has long since sunk.

Scooping water with one hand, the ceiling is getting lower.

The clothes on his head are scraping the ceiling.

If there’s no way forward, he has no choice but to turn back.

However, there was no strength left to turn back.

──And emerged from the cave.

That’s also a vast underground lake.

He saw the shore ahead.

It’s far! Arata’s stamina was nearing its limit.

“Wind slide.”

He cast a spell. But it didn’t activate.

It seems that it can’t be used on water.

The chin is raised, and only the face is above the water’s surface.

His arms, which are paddling through the water, are getting tired. He’s on the verge of drowning.

[Water Foaming]

He had acquired water magic. He didn’t know what kind of magic it was, but if it was something like wind glide, it would be helpful. He was curious about the word foam, but he had no choice but to use it.

“Water foaming.”

Water clings to his body. For a moment, his body sinks into the water.

And then, along with the compressed water, Arata’s body was also launched in an arc.

“Ugh, ugh!”

It doesn’t make a sound.

It seemed like he wouldn’t reach the shore when he hit the water’s surface, but he bounced off the water a few times like a stone skipping and finally made it to the shore. He hit his back hard.

“Ouch…”

He couldn’t move for a while. But he was saved.

He can’t keep sleeping forever. He gets up. His back throbs painfully.

He unties the clothes tied to his head.

It had completely absorbed the water and had become heavy.

Squeeze it out and use it to wipe his body like a towel.

However, there was no change in the fact that his body was getting colder.

When he looked up, there was a hole, and light from outside was coming in.

It was too high to climb.

He was walking while holding clothes.

It was a dead end again.

When he looked up, there was a suspension bridge.

It was tattered and decayed, so it probably hasn’t been used in a long time.

──And, Arata discovered something on the rocky terrain.

It was a skeleton.

“Did it fall from there and die here?”

Arata approached and examined the skeleton.

It was in tatters, but it was Japanese clothing.

There was also a backpack.

Inside, there are notebooks, pencils, a water bottle, and a knife.

Could it be the hero who was summoned long ago and set out on a journey to defeat the Demon King?

Arata opened the notebook.

“I am Hayashida Masato. I was summoned to this world from Japan in 1984. I was in the processed food industry. I am the president of Hayashida Foods.

The reason I’m writing this now is because I’ve fallen here and realized I can’t be saved.

I can’t move because of my leg injury, and I’m just waiting for death.

At the time I was summoned, it was an embarrassing story, but despite being a married man with a wife and children, I was having an affair with another woman. That woman, Tomoko Mizuno, joined Hayashida Foods as a new employee three years ago.

I was attracted to her. It didn’t take long for us to become a couple.

We went on a trip, claiming it was a business trip to the family.

I was summoned beyond that point.”

Arata read this lengthy notebook. It has been placed in the [Book] section, but he probably won’t read it again. The training for heroes back then was different from now, and they also underwent training as adventurers.

And so, the hero team set off on their journey to defeat the Demon King.

However, it was written that Hayashida and his mistress Tomoko had left the party midway, having received permission from the party leader.

It is said that he has started living in Guido Village.

Indeed, it seems that it was this Hayashida who conveyed Japanese culture.

The escape of the two became known to the Alfsnada Country, and search requests were even issued at the guild.

It is said that the villagers were hiding the two.

At that time, Guido Village was in a state where they were struggling to find food, but thanks to their efforts, they were able to recover, so they understood that.

However, it seems that the mistress, Tomoko, was found out because she used her guild card to make a purchase.

It seems that the usage history is completely exposed to the guild.

Tomoko and Hayashida were chased.

Tomoko was attacked by a monster while fleeing and died.

It is said that Hayashida also got injured and fell while crossing because the suspension bridge had become fragile.

Even if they are called heroes, it doesn’t necessarily mean they can always defeat monsters.

The rest was written with feelings for Tomoko.

“Tomoko, I love you.

Even if I become a corpse, I will always love you.

To whoever is reading this, I ask you to bury my remains and Tomoko’s remains in the same grave.

To a beautiful place where I can see the sunrise.

And, in honor of my achievements in the village, please rename Guido Village to Hayashida Village.

If you’ve come this far, you should be able to do it.

I am looking forward to it.”

“I don’t care!”

Arata slammed the notebook onto the ground.

The face of the boss who keeps pushing unnecessary, pointless work on his comes to mind.

“Ah-choo!”

He sneezed, and his nose started running.

However, it’s a problem.

Honestly, he wanted to avoid following the same fate as Hayashida.