I'm Actually Not Overpowered!

After a few more hours, the Desert Ostriches could no longer move.

As Asa suspected, they were fully spent. The poor animals had been carrying them for hours, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

Unfortunately, even though they were one of the fastest means of transport an Adventurer could use, Desert Ostriches didn't have infinite stamina.

"It's fine..." Asa petted the bald head of her mount.

The poor animal was wheezing at this point. It honestly made the blond lady feel bad about herself.

'How could I have pushed this creature to such a point...'

Still, despite her heartache, the resolve to make things right kept burning within her. Asa didn't have the time to dwell on heartbreaking thoughts.

"What should we do now?" Gu asked, staring squarely at the leader.

Liebert, on the other hand, lazily eyed the two. He was hungry and tired, so he would have preferred a rest.

But—

'I can't slow them down. This mission's reward is too great for me to pass up. If it's successful, then...'

—Liebert persevered for what he considered the greater good.

His survival!

"We keep marching on. Let's leave the Desert Ostriches here. Since we've not been walking for hours now, we should have sufficient stamina to run for a long while."

Liebert nearly leaked out a groan, but he controlled himself.

"Our goal hasn't changed. We must get to the target location before nightfall. Let us not forget the people that are counting on us!" As Asa made this declaration, Gu clenched his fists and nodded with determination.

He had comrades risking their lives on the front lines. There was no way he would take his time and risk their safety.

'Wait for me, everyone! I'll return with help. I promise!'

"Liebert, can you keep up?" Asa suddenly turned to the emaciated man.

"U-uh?"

"You don't seem to be in the best of health conditions, so I'm worried about your stamina." The blond lady continued.

Truly, if one took a good look at all three of them, it was obvious who seemed to be the dead weight.

Not only did Liebert have a sickly appearance, but he contributed very little to group discussions, and he seemed the least motivated.

Asa, as the leader, had taken all these into account, so she was a bit worried for him.

"A-ah, I'm good. I'll try not to slow anyone down."

Liebert's statement contained as little energy as there was assurance, but Asa decided to take his word for it.

There was no time to spend doubting him, after all.

"Alright! Let's go!"

*

*

*

'W-wha—?! Amazing...!!!'

Asa's eyes were wide open—nearly popping out of their sockets—as she watched something unbelievable unfold before her very eyes.

Gu was equally surprised.

They had been running for over two hours now, and Asa was already beginning to run out of steam.

The barbarian was also facing a similar predicament, though it seemed he could last longer if he pushed himself.

However, for Liebert—the seemingly weakest among the bunch—he was running just as fast as when they just started.

Maintaining his current pace, the lanky man had already overtaken the other two. His form was unhinged, and his expression hardly changed.

'H-how much stamina does he have?!' Asa found herself asking.

She panted for fresh air, her body glistening with sweat. Her muscles ached, and the girl was already feeling lightheaded.

'B-but... I can't stop now!'

Even though she felt like taking a break, there was no way she could do that with Liebert showing so much vigor.

It would have been a different story if the sickly man was the one who recommended a break. Heck, even if Gu said it, she would happily oblige.

But, as the Leader of the Party, Asa could not bring herself to call off their marathon!

'At this rate, though... I'll be the first to run out of steam!'

Had she been resting on her laurels for too long? Had she neglected her training that much?

'I can't afford to slack off! Push, Asa! Push further!!!'

About an hour later, Asa finally recommended a break.

***********

"H-Hero! We spotted some people heading our way!"

As I lay on my bed, enjoying the little break allocated for myself, a sharp voice pierced my ears.

'No... please no...' My eyes groggily opened and I almost let out a very irritated groan.

'Already? We're having intruders already? This blows!' Rising to sit on my bed, I ensured my face was in perfect condition before placing my gaze on the door of my room.

"Come in."

"Y-yes...".The voice hesitantly answered, and then he entered.

"A-ah, it is an honor to be in your presence, O' Hero." The man bowed before me.

He was a middle-aged man—I think Kurt was his name?—and he was one of the security personnel in charge of minding the Watchtower.

Kurt—as I suspected—appeared very nervous. His body fidgeted, and I could see his gaze shifting around the room.

Well, I could understand why.

"This is your first time here, isn't it?" I asked, obviously donning my 'Hero Voice'.

"Y-yes!" He groveled even further—if that was even possible.

'Welp. Now I understand...'

Usually, my sanctuary was a place only the top officials could enter.

Folks like Sarah, Lucy, Lilith, and Byron were granted permission to even dream of entering.

Of course, they had to knock first, and I also had to accept.

For commoners like Kurt, the best he could do was appreciate the exterior of my home from afar.

Lowly guards like him could never enter my residence.

'I don't mean to be partial, but I read that doing stuff like this fosters a competitive spirit among workers.'

Apparently, people tried their best to be recognized as one of the few chosen ones. Using this as the basis of my rationale, I designed the current hierarchical system.

'Ah, I was so sleepy that I messed up and let him in. Damn...'

Of course, the Hero could never be seen to make mistakes, so I had to cover up for my indiscretion by acting calm and collected.

'The jig must never be up!'