Chapter 1

"Someone like you can't possibly defeat the Demon King."

The girl, whose collar was grabbed and glared at by the legendary magician, was clearly trembling.

She knew this without being told.

In the battle with the demon earlier, she had been completely useless, and rather than helping, she had only been a burden.

However, she wasn't patient enough to remain silent when called "useless" unilaterally.

If she had interjected with a bit of humor—this was the result.

The smile she had put on to lighten the mood was now strained, and tears welled up in her eyes.

The man laughed at her with a snort and pushed her away, then left the scene.

She let out a cry of "Ow!" as she fell on her bottom, but none of her companions offered a hand.

Her companions, who looked at her with pity and left, made her feel even more isolated.

She hugged her knees, bowed her head, and rubbed her eyes against her clothes.

"I didn't come to such a place because I wanted to..."

The girl's name is Flamm Apricot.

According to the proclamation of the Creator God Origin, she is one of the heroes who set out on a journey to defeat the Demon King, along with the hero.

Incidentally, the other members are—

Gene Intage, the "Sage of Heaven," who wields the four elements and had just pushed Flamm away.

Linus Radiance, the "God Slayer Archer," who can shoot down prey even from a thousand miles away.

Maria Avenge, the "Merciful Holy Maiden," who heals all wounds and diseases with her heart of compassion and the power of light.

Gadio Lascut, the "Arm of Star Breaker," who wields a giant sword in one hand and can crush even S-rank monsters.

Eterna Limbau, the "Eternal Witch," who can freeze all enemies, including their souls, with overwhelming magic.

Kirill Sweetcha, the "Hero of Salvation," who was born to defeat the Demon King and possesses overwhelming power that surpasses the other heroes.

Since this party was formed to defeat the Demon King, it's only natural that the members gathered are so famous that even a simple country girl like Flamm has heard of them.

In such a gathering, a town girl with a skill she doesn't understand, "Reversal," and a status where "all stats are 0," naturally has no place.

That's why Flamm has been trying to contribute in areas other than combat.

More so than the other heroes, she has been pushing herself to the limit.

Even when she gets hurt protecting someone, her injuries are left untreated with the excuse that "healing is just a waste of magic power."

Even when she tries to help, she is scolded with "don't do unnecessary things."

Even when she serves light snacks to someone who is hungry, she has to bow and say, "Please eat."

Even so—

Perhaps there was a touch of self-pity in her dejection.

But it was clear that she was being treated unfairly, and she often questioned why she had to endure such treatment and what purpose it served.

Until now, she had repeatedly told herself, "Even so," and tried her best bravely.

...But the limit would come sooner or later.

"..."

Someone was looking down at Flamm, who was sitting on the ground.

Perhaps they had returned, even though they had gone ahead.

Such hope was shattered by a cold gaze.

The girl, who was about the same height as the small Flamm, with her golden hair grown to just cover her ears, had a presence in her eyes that even demons feared.

She was none other than the hero, Kirill Sweetcha.

From her expression, it didn't seem like there was any hope, but Flamm decided to take a chance and called out to her.

"Kirill-chan..."

But before she could finish saying the name, Kirill turned her back and left.

Her heart felt constricted.

She felt completely abandoned.

At the beginning of the journey, they had been close as fellow country girls of the same generation.

But as Flamm's uselessness became more apparent, the distance between them grew.

And now, she was being ignored by a dejected Flamm.

Originally, she had no intention of going on a journey, as she had no power.

But since the proclamation of the god had chosen her, she couldn't refuse, and the people of her hometown were so excited about the village producing a hero that she had no place to run.

How would the people who had once expected so much of her feel if they saw her now, useless and abandoned by her companions, sitting alone and dejected?

"They would be so disappointed, everyone..."

Imagining the cold looks from the people she had been close to, she felt even more dejected.

But her companions were moving forward, and she couldn't stay seated forever.

She stood up, wiped the dirt off her bottom, and ran after them.

It was miserable.

She felt as if she were all alone in the world.

◇◇◇

The southern half of the continent is the territory of humans, and the northern half is the territory of demons.

In other words, the party of heroes was continuing to move northward toward the Demon King's castle, which is located in the northern part of the demon territory.

However, since they were traveling on foot, the amount of supplies they could carry was limited.

But the heroes had no need to worry about supplies, thanks to the magic "Return" that only the hero Kirill could use.

This magic allowed them to return to the capital at any time and, by using Return again, to return to the demon territory.

Of course, there were limits on the number of times it could be used and the time required for the incantation, but by repeating this process, they could steadily and surely approach their destination, the Demon King's castle.

On that day, after completing the planned progress to the designated point, the party of heroes returned to the capital.

The transfer destination of Return was the "Transfer Room" in the basement of the castle.

It was a dim, secluded place, and it was also the place where they would gather before heading to the demon territory.

"Phew... Yeah, the air here is definitely better, isn't it?"

After a few days in the capital, the witch Eterna took a deep breath and said this.

Actually, it was underground, so the air wasn't as clear, but the sense of security from the absence of enemies might have made it feel that way.

"Yes, I can't relax when demons are nearby."

As the holy maiden Maria agreed, the archer Linus approached her, moving his hands excitedly.

"Maria-chan, maybe your body is just stiff, you know. If you want, I can give you a massage..."

"I'll pass."

Linus, who was rejected with a smile, slumped his shoulders.

At first, he would turn red and raise his voice, but Maria had become more savvy.

However, he didn't give up.

"Alright, then how about a meal?"

He smoothly changed the subject and invited her on a date, and Maria covered her mouth and laughed delicately.

"Hehehe, in that case, I'll join you."

"Yesss!"

Linus made a fist pump, not hiding his joy.

The two of them left the transfer room without even saying goodbye.

The sage Gene, watching their interaction, grumbled, "There's no tension," and sighed conspicuously, but he had no right to stop them.

After all, they were allowed free time until the next day's gathering time.

They dispersed to prepare and replenish supplies.

The last ones left were Kirill and Flamm.

When Kirill closed her eyes, the ornamental sword she had been holding turned into particles and disappeared, leaving a crest on the back of her hand.

She glanced at Flamm for a moment, narrowed her eyes as if glaring, and left the room.

In the past, the two of them, who both loved sweets, would eat cake and chat when they returned to the capital.

But now, that was no longer possible.

"I want to go home... I wonder if my mom and dad are doing well..."

She thought of her hometown and her family.

It had only been a few months, but it felt nostalgic.

Every time the image of her warm home came to mind, tears welled up in her eyes.

Flumm rubbed her eyes and shook her head to stop the sentimentality, clenched her fists, and said, "Alright," as she headed for the exit of the room.

She didn't have time to cry; she needed to replenish supplies for the next day's journey.

When she stepped out of the transfer room and into the corridor, a man in black armor, so large that it seemed to be twice the size of Flamm, stood there.

"Gadio? And Eterna too!"

The armored man was Gadio, the warrior who had left earlier.

Upon closer inspection, Eterna was also there, hidden in his shadow.

She appeared in front of Flamm, waving her hand.

"We're going shopping, and I have some errands to run, so I thought I'd go with you."

"I'm not free, but Eterna asked me to carry the bags."

Despite his words, Gadio's expression was gentle as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

It seemed they couldn't bear to see Flamm's dejection and had waited for her.

As seasoned adventurers, they had probably noticed her vulnerability.

"Thank you so much!"

Flamm bowed deeply.

In that moment, all her worries seemed to vanish, and she felt as if she had been saved.

Of course, a few hours later, she would realize that it was all just a delusion.

◇◇◇

After finishing her shopping, Flamm said goodbye to Eterna and Gadio, who had accompanied her, and went to the inn to drop off her luggage.

As soon as she entered her room, she sighed while looking in the mirror.

Despite the help from Eterna and Gadio, she felt a wave of fatigue.

With a strength of 0, she couldn't carry heavy objects, and with a stamina of 0, she felt exhausted after just a little walking.

Flamm herself was tired of her own body.

Having a status of 0 wasn't something that had just started.

It had been that way since she was a child, or rather, since she was born.

The cause was known: "Attribute."

In this world, humans are born with an attribute in their body.

Fire, water, wind, earth, light, and darkness.

One of these six attributes is chosen, and the person can use magic of their attribute according to their magic power.

However, there are exceptions to the six attributes.

For example, the genius sage Gene, who can handle the four elements of fire, water, wind, and earth, is called "Nature."

For example, the hero Kirill, who can use special magic, is called "Hero."

These are called "rare attributes" and are generally considered superior to the six attributes.

Of course, as with rare attributes themselves, there are exceptions to this.

A specific example is Flamm's "Reversal."

Her strength, magic power, stamina, agility, and senses—all her stats were 0 and did not grow, probably due to the influence of Reversal.

Her growth was reversed, and the values that should have increased continued to decrease.

Since they couldn't go below 0, they remained at 0.

Of course, with 0 magic power, she couldn't use magic and couldn't benefit from the rare attribute.

"The people in the village were really kind, you know."

No one bullied Flamm, and the adults treated her equally with the other children.

None of her peers looked down on her.

Now, thinking back, that was probably abnormal.

By going on the journey, Flamm was thrown into a normal world and faced the reality.

It was a wall she would eventually hit, whether now or in the future... With this power, Flamm's life was doomed from the moment she was born.

Cursing the power within her, Flamm lay on the bed in her room, hugging a pillow.

As she lay down and closed her eyes, a comfortable drowsiness enveloped her body.

Feeling tired, she thought about falling asleep when—knock, knock—someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

Half-asleep, she asked in a listless voice.

"It's Gene, I have something important to talk about."

The moment she heard the voice, Flamm quickly got up and rushed to the door.

She fell and scraped her knee once, but she endured the pain, unlocked the door, and turned the knob.

There stood the stern-faced sage.

"What is it, Gene?"

"Come with me."