The story begins four years after the Demon King’s defeat. Peace has returned to the kingdom, which has initiated a project to compile the achievements of the deceased hero, Ares Schmitt, into a record. The task of interviewing his former companions falls to Princess Alexandria, who was meant to be the hero’s bride upon his return.

She questions the three surviving members of the hero’s party: Leon the Sword Saint, Maria the Holy Maiden, and Solon the Great Sage. Each recounts their time with Ares at the academy, painting him as an unremarkable commoner with no special talent in swordsmanship, magic, or healing. Yet his extraordinary persistence and willpower earned him their respect. However, when the topic of Ares’s death arises, all three grow evasive. Official reports claimed he fell in battle against a stray demon on the journey home, but their hesitation suggests a far more troubling possibility, that perhaps one of the hero’s own companions killed him.

As the interviews progress and inconsistencies in their testimonies surface, the real truth emerges through the memories of Zack, Ares’s cousin. The actual Ares Schmitt died before the party ever reached the royal capital. Zack, who shared a childhood promise with Ares to become heroes, assumed his cousin’s identity and, despite his own lack of natural talent, persevered to lead the party to victory against the Demon King. After the battle was won, Zack revealed the deception to his companions, confessed that the true hero was already dead, and left the kingdom alone, choosing to vanish rather than accept false glory.

Princess Alexandria, unable to accept this, launches her own investigation and confronts the Prophet who originally chose Ares as the hero. She learns the Prophet is her own mother, who possesses a mysterious ability to loop through time. The cycles of repetition, each aimed at finding a way to defeat the Demon King, were never a malevolent plot but a desperate effort to save her daughter and the world. The narrative resolves not with an act of murder, but with the revelation that the hero died due to a tragic accident and the emotional fallout of a well-intentioned impostor’s sacrifice. The story ultimately follows Zack as he makes peace with his past and finds a quiet, earned happiness in a remote village, with Princess Alexandria eventually tracking him down to bring him home.