Academy – Hero = Fool

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“Growburn Village?”

At Sarah’s words, Jade wore an expression that showed she had no idea what kind of place it was.

It was a village in a remote area, so it was understandable that she had never heard of it.

“Yes. The Hero should go to the Holy Kingdom as soon as possible and be officially appointed as a Hero. I don’t know what the higher-ups are thinking.”

Instead of going straight to the Holy Kingdom, they were suddenly telling her to go to Growburn Village.

I pondered for a moment what the Kingdom of Rica’s intention might be.

An unexpected order, what’s the intention?

They must want something from us…

“The reward is written as being given by the dispatched personnel there when you solve the problem and arrive at the Holy Kingdom. I don’t know how much they’ll give. Anyway, even if you, the Hero, refuse the order, the Kingdom of Rica can’t do anything. If they try to handle you as they please, the Empire and other kingdoms won’t stand still. You can just ignore this order.”

“Is Growburn Village suffering a lot from the Dungeon?”

“Hmm… As far as I know, it’s been a while since a Dungeon appeared in Growburn Village. The village is located in a remote area, so it’s been ambiguous to send personnel to investigate the Dungeon, and it’s been left unattended until now. For this reason, casualties continue to occur.”

As soon as she heard those words, Jade replied.

“Then I’ll go to Growburn Village.”

“Yes, go straight to the Holy Kingdom… What?”

Sarah had a flustered look on her face at the unexpected answer. I thought she would at least hesitate, but Jade made a choice without hesitation.

Hehe.

Sarah underestimated the Hero’s pushover spirit.

If she wasn’t someone who would save a village in this kind of situation, she wouldn’t have been chosen as a Hero. Jade, like the errand-running Hero of everyone, chose the path of saving people.

…Of course, that’s my story from the past too.

If I saw someone who needed help, I couldn’t just pass by, so I got caught up in all sorts of things.

I helped and saved so many people, but there were more than a few times when my life was threatened.

Hmm.

‘I was quite the pushover Hero too.Seeing Jade’s appearance, I keep seeing my past self overlapping, and it makes me embarrassed.

“It’s not a problem if I go to the Holy Kingdom a little late, is it?”

“That’s true, but… well, you wouldn’t have become a Hero for nothing.”

Sarah looked impressed by Jade’s spirit of sacrifice.

“Still, it’s not like the higher-ups made an unreasonable request. Growburn Village is on the way to the Holy Kingdom, even if it’s a bit of a detour. You can solve the village’s problems and go straight to the Holy Kingdom. Of course, you’ll have to use a carriage since there’s no Warp…”

According to the explanation, the situation is better than I thought. Going to the Holy Kingdom will be much later than expected, but it’s not so urgent that there’s not enough time yet.

“But what happens to the Veil Academy if I leave this place?”

“I’ve already taken care of that part. You don’t need to attend Veil Academy anymore. How can this small academy accommodate someone who has awakened as a Hero?”

“Ah, then…”

Jade, who was nodding, found Annie and me sitting next to her, and her face hardened. After that, Jade hesitated for a long time without answering.

She’s probably afraid that she’ll have to part ways with us if she leaves the academy.

But the perceptive Headmaster solved Jade’s worries.

“Ah, is that what you’re worried about? Annie, Lena. If you want, I’ll arrange for you to go with her too. In the first place, it’s strictly the Hero’s authority to decide who to put in the Hero Party and take with them.”

“Thank you!”

“But being a member of the Hero Party is not an easy task. Rather, you’re participating in the most dangerous party. You’ll be targeted by countless enemies. Are you still okay with that?”

Sarah explained the dangers of the Hero Party for a long time.

She must be very worried that we’ll blindly enter the Hero Party with fantasies about the Hero. There’s nothing as foolish as that.

The Hero Party that people encounter is mostly a glorious figure returning with shining victories. But right behind the glorious appearance were countless efforts and sacrifices.

Joining the Hero Party means you have to be prepared to give your life. There’s that much to bear.

‘Fate is truly…’

To have to participate in the tiresome journey of the Hero again.

Still, my answer is already decided.

“I’m going with Jade. I also have a debt to repay to Jade.”

“Hehe… Thank you.”

Jade smiled brightly and scratched her head.

‘Aigo, are you that proud of it?’

The word ‘debt’ that I mentioned must have reminded her of when she saved me. Seeing that pleased expression makes me want to make her despair again.

Anyway, I have to go with Jade. How much I suffered in the academy because of this.

Or is it?

It seems like it was too enjoyable to call it suffering.

“Lena, I thought you would do that from the start… Annie, what are you going to do?”

Unlike me, Annie was lost in thought.

In fact, Annie’s magical talent isn’t that great. She probably wants to go with us, but she’s worried that her skills will be a hindrance.

‘She’s worrying about unnecessary things.’

Officially, Annie is the only Wizard among the three of us, so Annie’s help will be needed until we find a new Wizard anyway.

Anyway, if I just push Annie’s back a little, she’ll fall over, so I’ll shake her heart a little.

“Annie, you don’t have to stay with us until the end. We’ll have to stop by the Magic Tower at least once during the journey. You wanted to go to the Magic Tower too, right? How about staying with us until then? The Magic Tower will accept you since you’ve worked as a member of the ‘Hero Party’.”

Annie’s heart, which had been wavering at my temptation, completely tilted to one side, and I heard a satisfactory answer.

“If it’s until the Magic Tower… I’ll join you for now. I’m lacking in skills, but please take care of me in the future!”

Jade’s expression brightened noticeably when we said we would go together. And she grabbed our hands, one in each hand.

“Thank you, everyone. You’re the only people I can truly trust.”

Sarah, who happened to be from the Magic Tower, had an embarrassed expression on her face.

“…I don’t know if the Magic Tower will accept you like that. Anyway, is it decided that you’re all going together? Then take this.”

-Thud.

Sarah placed a pouch in front of us.

“It’s a gift to commemorate your friendship. It should be enough for the expenses needed to get to the village.”

When Jade opened the pouch, there was more money inside than she thought.

‘She’s quite generous.’

Even if I roughly count it, it’s more than 10 gold… With this much, I think I’d have to do Extermination Request 50 times.

“…This is too much.”

Jade hesitated at the burdensome amount, so Sarah added a few words.

“This is also a gift of apology. I put in some of my own money too. But if it’s still burdensome, you can think of it as a bribe I’m giving to the Hero. I want to look good to the future hero.”

“Jade, take it quickly. It’s the price we have to receive fairly.”

I urged Jade from the side. It’s not like Sarah will take the money back.

But if this happens, I won’t be able to play the game of giving my body as a price because I don’t have money… I’ll just have to take it from somewhere, right?

Sarah isn’t that old, so she has a cool and unpretentious style. Looking at her, it doesn’t seem like she’s someone who would stab us in the back or take advantage of us.

Before meeting her, I thought that there weren’t many academies in a normal state, so I naturally expected the Headmaster to be a vicious person too. So I thought she would forcibly silence us as soon as she saw us, or rather, come out in a defiant manner.

If that had happened, I would have completely destroyed the academy.

But Sarah isn’t that bad of a person, so it’s become ambiguous to do that.

Instead, should I play with her lightly?

**

After finishing the long conversation with Sarah, we came out of the Headmaster’s office.

-Thump.

Jade sighed as soon as the door closed.

“Hoo… I didn’t know the Headmaster was this kind of person.”

“I thought she would be very dignified too. My image in my head was shattered when she immediately knelt down…”

“Guys, can you go ahead? I have something to tell the Headmaster separately.”

“We can wait for that much.”

Jade waved her hand, saying it was okay and telling me to go quickly.

It’s a bit much since I might get caught if I do this…

‘Should I come back at night later?’

Still, I’m disappointed, so I’ll try to drive Jade away one more time.

“No. Class must have already started, so go quickly.”

“Isn’t it just a few minutes anyway?”

Even so, Jade kept trying to wait without noticing.

‘It’s frustrating…’

But Annie, who met my eyes, noticed that I wanted to be alone, and grabbed Jade’s arm.

“Jade, come on. Then we’ll go to the classroom first!”

“Huh…? I have to wait―”

“Aish. Be quiet and come on.”

Annie started dragging the flustered Jade to the end of the hallway.

‘I made good friends.’

I raised my thumb towards Annie.

When the two of them were completely out of sight, I went back into the Headmaster’s office.

-Creak.

“Haa. I’ve solved the biggest problem for now…?”

Sarah, who was slumped in her chair, was startled when she saw me.

“Le, Lena, is that you? Do you have any remaining business?”

“Sarah, it’s a bit disappointing to just leave like this.”

“Huh?”

Sarah seemed flustered by my suddenly changed atmosphere.

“Shall we talk just the two of us for now?”

-Paaaah.

When I snapped my fingers, the inside of the Headmaster’s office was covered in red.

“…What’s your true identity?”

Sarah’s face hardened as she recognized the level of magic I used. Her Wand was already summoned and held in her hand.

Unexpected surprise attack, but not a bad reaction speed.

“I’m Lena, a student at Veil Academy. I’m planning to drop out from tomorrow, though.”

“Are you going to go that far?”

“But you won’t be able to escape, will you?”

“Keuheuk!”

Sarah grabbed her heart and collapsed to the floor. She tried to cast Warp Magic without me knowing, but her mana backfired because it was blocked by the Barrier.

“You won’t be able to escape with the Headmaster’s skills.”

“Haha… The worst things have happened one after another for two days.”

Sarah was trying to figure out the situation somehow, even while laughing in vain.

“Did you come to kill me because you have a grudge against the Magic Tower? Or is there something you want from me?”

“Of course not. I’m just going to play with you for a while.”

-Thump. Thump.

I slowly approached Sarah, who was sitting down, and stroked her cheek. Her tense eyes were shaking like crazy.

“It seems like you have a lot of pent-up stress… I’ll make you feel good.”