Ch.157157. Resolution

“Hannah… Wellesley.”

After a long conversation of about three hours, right after accepting the Hero’s marriage proposal, Gang Hannah unconsciously repeated these words to herself.

“Hannah?”

The Hero blinked.

She thought she had only said it in her mind, but apparently she had spoken out loud without realizing it.

She felt her face flush hot for a moment, but fortunately, the Hero seemed willing to find her cute and let it slide.

Gang Hannah just smiled awkwardly.

She wasn’t smiling because she was excited about becoming the wife of the Empire’s most powerful figure and wealthy man, a superhuman who could single-handedly overthrow an entire country.

Gang Hannah knew better than anyone that the Hero was superhuman.

He could run faster than a warhorse at full gallop, tear apart demons with his bare hands despite their resistance to high-level magic, and collapse buildings with casual slashes of light from his casual strikes—a man of monstrous strength.

That alone made him a walking calamity, and on top of that, he possessed excellent political skills.

But Gang Hannah had never admired the Hero for these qualities.

‘Admire? If anything, I pity him.’

Despite having so much, he carried responsibilities that weighed even more than what he possessed.

Perhaps because of that weight, the Hero had never shown her his human side. Only recently had he exposed a slightly relaxed demeanor a few times.

It would be strange to feel excitement after receiving a proposal from such an iron man.

Yet she couldn’t understand why she felt this peculiar sentiment.

“Hannah. Let’s have another drink.”

Was it because of the sweetness of the honey wine the Hero was pouring?

“Ah, yes!”

Honestly, it probably wasn’t unrelated. The wine was so sweet it was hard to believe it was alcohol, making her tongue tingle.

The sound of liquid swirling, the thick honey taste lingering in her mouth.

And even the Hero’s touch as he wiped blood from her face.

At some point, the austere Hero began to seem somewhat approachable.

This wasn’t just because of the alcohol, but also because the Hero had shared his personal history for once.

“A few years ago, I was on a long-term mission. It was to eliminate a deserter. There wasn’t particularly any crisis, but the locals were uncooperative, which was tiring.”

“That must have been difficult. But why are you telling me this…?”

“I briefly dated a village girl who helped me at the time. She approached me aggressively, and I went along with it. It wasn’t appropriate, but I was young then. Fortunately, my colleagues turned a blind eye.”

Even so, to share a story about dating a village girl at this point—it was neither something to get angry about nor something to agree with, so Gang Hannah just smiled. She thought that if his intention was to show his vulnerable side, it was working.

However, as she listened, she realized that wasn’t all.

“Actually, I experienced a broken engagement because of that mission. …My closest colleague subtly provoked my fiancée, leading her to make a rash move. Because of that, I left the knights and went through hell just to survive for a while.”

“Oh my.”

“Looking back, I was a bit ruthless then. My friend was also out of his mind. Now that I think about it, it was such a petty conflict.”

“…”

“In fact, the lady I came to an agreement with before the Saintess was that former fiancée.”

The Saintess couldn’t continue speaking for a while.

It was surprising enough that the Hero, that austere man, had once enjoyed a brief fling, but to think he had such a past.

That wasn’t all. He said he had once baited the Empire’s strongest swordsman and deliberately got beaten in front of hundreds of people just to survive. He said he was beaten like a dog and desperately consumed elixirs… looking at him now, it was impossible to imagine.

“Is that really true?”

“Yes. It’s the unvarnished truth. There’s a bald guy named Bingo, and we spent every day scheming just to survive.”

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe. You, Hero?”

“Even I find it hard to believe now when I think about it. …I never thought the day would come when I would kill the person who threatened me then for reasons other than revenge.”

…She seemed to have heard something brutal at the end, but the Saintess wasn’t particularly surprised.

It wasn’t because she had become numb to violence, but because she was already quite intoxicated.

Having drunk a bottle of wine by herself, her head was dizzy, and she felt like the floor was floating. Drowsiness was also rapidly setting in. She had apparently exceeded her drinking capacity without realizing it, gulping down whatever was offered.

‘…I wonder if I can just fall asleep like this.’

Gang Hannah blinked and smiled. She instinctively knew that the Hero hadn’t given her alcohol with any ulterior motives.

However, the thought of falling asleep defenseless in front of the Hero did make her heart flutter. This subtle tension wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

‘Maybe marrying him was a good decision after all.’

Gang Hannah quietly murmured to herself as she surrendered to sleep.

Despite the special circumstances, she had decided on marriage after just a few hours of conversation. And the Hero, once a mere knight of common birth, had fought fiercely against something even he couldn’t fully comprehend, ultimately reaching this point.

Thanks to the alcohol, she thought they made a rather good match.

***

The Saintess had fallen asleep like a baby.

A cute girl sleeping in a hunched position, not even having changed out of her blood-stained nun’s habit. She said she was over twenty, but perhaps due to her impression, she looked younger.

I unconsciously reached out to stroke her black hair.

Gang Hannah, who was smacking her lips in her sleep, felt somewhat unfamiliar to me, and perhaps because I had just had my proposal accepted, I also felt a sense of pity for her.

“Hannah. I’ll do my best too.”

After muttering these somewhat embarrassing words, I got up.

Of course, I had no intention of leaving the sleeping Saintess alone, so I entrusted her to the elderly nuns who had been quietly waiting outside.

“The Saintess is quite intoxicated. Please take care of her.”

“Yes, Hero.”

The nuns seemed to have guessed what the Saintess and I had agreed upon.

They didn’t seem displeased. Rather, they mentioned the previous Saintess who had lived a lonely life after sending the Hero back to Earth, saying it was fortunate, a blessing. After all, in reality, the only suitable partner for a Saintess was the Hero.

I’ll have to live up to those expectations. I forced a bitter smile as I hurried my steps.

In any case, I had now obtained the consent of both women.

I wondered if they would get along well. They were mature for their age, so they might get along smoothly, or they might be awkward with each other for a few months. Of course, it would depend on my behavior, but I was already prepared.

After all, I routinely dealt with problems more complex than having two wives.

That was still the case even right after the proposal.

I immediately headed to the Crown Prince’s office within the imperial palace grounds. The key figures from the Academy were already gathered there.

“Professor Weaver.”

“Ah… Your Highness.”

Professor Weaver, sitting dazed with a lost expression, staring into space.

He looked so wretched that it reminded me of when he came to my house during the first Cordana crash. He seemed to have realized that I hadn’t called him for pleasantries.

“The Academy will begin closure procedures from today.”

“…So it has come to this after all.”

“All assets held by the Academy will be reclaimed, and the students will undergo a selection process—some will be rescued, and the rest will be sent home. Of course, students involved in this incident will receive punishment fitting their crimes.”

At this announcement, Professor Weaver’s expression darkened dramatically. The Academy’s deans and chancellor, who had been summoned with him, turned pale and began to stir.

By what authority, Hero? Isn’t this ignoring proper procedures? What about the faculty?

Closing the Academy—it was indeed a big deal.

Among those currently supporting the Empire, those who weren’t Academy graduates could be counted on one hand.

From masters of the highest caliber to second-rate knights who couldn’t even use aura—everyone had at least an Academy diploma. Because there was only one institution producing talent, it was simply called “the Academy” without any specific name.

If an ambiguous minister had proposed closing the Academy, they would have been treated as insane. If the Emperor or a Prince had pushed for it, they might have faced massive resistance, resulting in diminished imperial authority. This was true even now when the Academy was called a garbage dump.

However, I wasn’t worried about resistance. I had seized power precisely to push through such measures.

“If you think the Emperor’s approval is necessary, you’re welcome to go as a group and request it.”

“Oh, Hero. Even so, this is too heavy-handed.”

“I’m not speaking as the Hero. I’ve summoned you all as the Crown Prince who has been delegated emergency powers by the imperial family. While I’m willing to hear objections, I won’t reverse the decision to close the Academy. You’d be better off helping me, for your own sake as well.”

“…”

A moment of silence fell, but it didn’t last long.

Professor Weaver, standing with a troubled expression, broke the silence by adding, “Our kids are finished anyway.”

He said this after visiting the students who had caused the violent incident before being summoned to the Crown Prince’s office, where he had seen other students snickering and laughing as they watched.

“…The kids who caused the incident were betting on whether they’d be sent to a penal unit or a labor camp. They were betting like idiots and then mocking those who ruined their futures. None of them showed any sense of crisis.”

“But that’s—”

“Chancellor, and Deans. We’re already finished. I think it’s right to save at least the promising students before it’s too late.”

Following Weaver’s words, the Academy leadership looked around cautiously before finally agreeing.

It didn’t take long for us to resolve on the progressive dissolution of the Academy. Soon, the process of selecting students for rescue would follow.

Because of this decision, a significant number of students would effectively become surplus.

There would certainly be innocent victims who wouldn’t be rescued simply because their talent was slightly lacking. However, I decided not to worry about their lives. We weren’t in a situation where we could accommodate everyone anyway.

The only thing I could promise was this:

I would do my best to prove that my decision was right, even after years had passed.