Ch.343343 – The Suspicious Former Hero’s Lecture

<343 – The Suspicious Former Hero’s Lecture>

Irrefutable evidence had emerged.

Oknodie had obtained the answer sheet.

From Professor Sadaco and Professor Destroyer.

Between the two, the one capable of such a feat was Professor Destroyer.

It was undoubtedly the work of Destroyer, who had once been active in the hero party led by the former hero <Nyarlathotep>, the greatest thief of his time.

“Impressive.”

Honestly, I hadn’t thought he would do something like this.

Why would Professor Destroyer help the Foundation?

But the existence of the answer sheet spoke for itself.

No matter how improbable the hypothesis seemed, this was the reality of what had happened.

“Waaah.”

Ignoring the baby mandrake that was stabbing its tiny roots into the wall to strengthen them, unaware of the intruder’s presence, his hand stopped as he flipped through the answer sheet.

━━━

Professor Bronze’s Assignment ②

Professor Bronze’s Assignment ③

Professor Bronze’s Assignment ④

━━━

All the upcoming assignments were written down, except for the first one submitted in the previous lecture.

The assignments matched perfectly with what he would have assigned according to the curriculum.

Both the topics presented and the accompanying answers were so accurate that he couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

‘If she had stolen answer sheets I created, I would have given her full marks just to acknowledge her skill. But this…’

Was this truly Oknodie’s own ability?

Or was it the handiwork of Professor Destroyer helping her?

The insight and wisdom to see through a professor’s curriculum.

This was something that even a professor-level individual couldn’t easily imitate unless they were a member of the former hero party.

The all-capable thief, Destroyer.

The possibility that this was his work had risen to the level of near certainty.

Of course, the handwriting was in the crooked baby-writing style.

Unless the baby mandrake, not even 10 years old, had picked up a pen to write it for her, this was undoubtedly Oknodie’s handwriting.

These were assignment submission sheets that had been rewritten after the original answer sheets had been destroyed.

This meant that even if questioned, Professor Destroyer had ample conditions to deny involvement.

“Monk Myungho. You were right.”

“Hmm. I didn’t want to believe it, but that man has indeed extended his hand to the Foundation.”

“I suppose Destroyer Professor’s appearance of investigating the Foundation was just a facade. Or perhaps he was recruited during that process.”

A shadow of concern fell across Monk Myungho’s face.

“Was Oknodie’s position more precarious than it appeared… Oh Primordial Heavenly Lord, is the fate this girl must bear too cruel? Please bestow your compassion through merit.”

“What do you mean?”

“The attack on the house of Arcadia Ceviche, a first-year student, was Professor Destroyer’s doing. The Ceviche ducal family colluded with the Foundation, and Professor Destroyer prevented the family’s annihilation in exchange for payment from Oknodie and Arcadia.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It could have been seen that way if Professor Destroyer hadn’t been recruited by the Foundation. But now that he has been recruited, the attack itself seems to have had a different intention.”

Monk Myungho completely reconstructed the incident.

“The Foundation was showing that they could destroy anyone around Oknodie, regardless of their status, in an attempt to tame her.”

“!!”

“The only person who would do such a thing is Zeal Wiheomhae, the chairman of the Foundation. Even the recent murder of a member of the Beastkin Revival Movement, a Foundation subsidiary, must have occurred as an extension of this attempt to control Oknodie.”

Professor Bronze reflected on his actions.

The man he had despised as a “monk” had reached the truth through persistent observation and investigation, driven by deep concern for Oknodie.

A truth that he, as a vigilante, could have reached more quickly and accurately.

What kind of master was he to his disciple Oknodie?

As her teacher, his pride was wounded.

“I had no intention of developing shallow emotions like affection, but I should keep a closer eye on her. To prevent any more undeserving people from circling around her.”

* * *

━━━

Thursday, 4th period.

Professor Destroyer’s major lecture for the Adventure Department.

<Retired Former Heroes and the Great Evils of the World>.

━━━

The lecture that until last week was thought to be a failed class with zero students now had two attendees.

One was Oknodie, the only student from the previous semester, and the other was Ishtar, the second-ranked student in her year and an active hero.

“Huh? Why is Ishtar here?”

“What’s wrong with a hero attending a former hero’s lecture?”

“You weren’t interested at all in the first semester!”

“…I didn’t feel any deficiency then. But don’t misunderstand. Just because we’re taking the same class doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you for tricking me out of my points.”

She had noticed that Oknodie had grown significantly stronger since the boat trip, but to think she had even managed to get one over on a hero.

Professor Bronze, secretly observing from a distance, was quite surprised by his disciple’s actions.

But the real surprise began as he eavesdropped on the lecture.

“When former heroes set out on their journey to destroy the evil plaguing the world, the first enemies they faced were insignificant monsters, but the first beings that could be called great evils were not monsters. Rather, they were humans.”

Professor Destroyer taught using his past adventures as a basis.

Secret histories of the world that no one but a member of the hero party could know emerged from old memories in the small lecture hall.

“The Revolutionary of the Empire. The Agent of the Ten Thousand Gods. The Leader of the Society. Among them, the first to encounter the hero party was the Revolutionary of the Empire. Thirteen years ago, when the hero party, having received commendation plaques from touring frontier villages, headed to the capital. At that time, the capital was filled with refugees fleeing a great famine.”

Destroyer spoke of the first encounter with the three great evils that occurred 12 years ago.

“Limited food. Too many farmers. In the midst of chaos, a merchant guild leader who wanted to maximize profits with minimal food posted a peculiar request. He would share 1% of the net profit with any adventurer who could create a profit model using the refugees.”

“Was that merchant one of the three great evils?”

“The merchant remained a merchant from beginning to end. But our hero party leader, Nyarlathotep, displayed his merchant spirit, saying we couldn’t miss the opportunity to earn funds for our hero activities, and took on the merchant’s request.”

Nyarlathotep was truly an outrageous hero.

Even more so because he actually succeeded spectacularly.

“Compared to the food distributed by the government, the merchant guild leader didn’t have much food at his disposal. But Nyarlathotep managed to find a way to distribute the limited food while making it seem like a generous gesture.”

A small blue ticket.

The moment he saw it, Professor Bronze felt intense revulsion.

Because he remembered that a massive incident that once shook the Empire originated from that small ticket.

“Wow! Blue tickets!”

“You recognize them?”

“Of course! If you collect them, you can exchange them for items in the City of Ghosts, right? They’re special currency!”

“…These are called food cards. If you collected three, you could exchange them for one meal. What is this City of Ghosts you’re talking about?”

“It’s a secret!”

Ishtar looked bewildered.

“How do you know about that, Oknodie? Even I don’t remember much since I was young, despite growing up in the Empire.”

“It’s a secret!”

“This is certainly strange. Oknodie is about 11 years old, isn’t she? How could she recognize food cards that were used for barely half a year before she was even born? And in such a bizarre way that differs from their original purpose.”

Oknodie laughed nervously, trying to brush it off as if she had just pretended to know.

Although he could have pressed further, Destroyer didn’t inquire any more.

It clearly meant that the Foundation was using the <Food Cards>, which were designated as taboo in the Empire just like <Enhancement>, in some underground manner.

And Oknodie had experienced it.

It felt dirty, but it wasn’t something to investigate right now, and Oknodie wouldn’t answer straightforwardly even if he did.

Professor Destroyer continued his lecture.

“Nyarlathotep decided to distribute food cards to refugees who helped with the merchant guild’s work, and it was actually successful for a while. In a time when even a grain of rice or wheat was precious, there were plenty of desperate people. Labor could be obtained very cheaply.”

“But now it’s designated as a taboo technology in the Empire. I didn’t live in the capital during my childhood, so I don’t know well, what exactly happened with the blue cards, Professor?”

Pleased with the young hero’s curiosity, Destroyer asked a question in return.

“Try to guess. All three of you get one chance. If you’re correct, I’ll overlook it even if you skip class or eavesdrop once.”

Three people?

Is he talking about me?

Could my presence have been detected from this distance?

This is a bit scary.

As Professor Bronze looked around, his gaze turned to the floor.

Footprints.

Footprints that weren’t his own were visible in the empty space.

“Oh right. You knew, Professor?”

Oknodie, looking guilty at the mention of three people, rubbed her ring, and a doll-like, elegantly dressed girl emerged from it.

“A ghost!?”

“Don’t attack! I got permission to bring her along from the professors.”

Destroyer urged them on with an indifferent expression.

“So, what’s your answer?”

“I’ll go first.”

“Speak, Ishtar.”

“The merchant guild ran out of food to distribute but continued to release blue cards out of greed, causing refugees who couldn’t obtain food to riot?”

“That’s worth 10 points.”

Ishtar clenched her fist in joy.

See that?

She raised her chin proudly toward Oknodie, but Destroyer coldly added:

“Out of 100.”

“Pfft.”

Oknodie covered her mouth and laughed.

The fake little sister Lin also mimicked Oknodie and laughed in the same way.

The hero’s face turned red with shame from being mocked doubly.

As Ishtar pressed her lips together with her face red, Oknodie raised her hand.

“My turn, right?”

“Go ahead, Oknodie.”

“I think a competing merchant guild obtained the raw materials used to make blue cards and flooded the market with identical cards, causing the original guild to go bankrupt! That’s what I would do!”

“…You really live up to your Dark Princess title with such devilish thoughts.”

Despite Ishtar’s criticism, Professor Destroyer’s expression wasn’t particularly displeased.

“50 points.”

“Aww. Only half right.”

“Last one. What do you think?”

Oknodie’s ghost friend hesitated, unsure if she should answer, but Professor Destroyer’s gaze wasn’t directed at the ghost.

It wasn’t the ghost.

The third student he was asking for an answer was someone else.

Professor Bronze didn’t move this time either.

He had realized moments ago that he wasn’t the target of detection.

Ghosts don’t leave footprints.

Vigilantes don’t leave footprints.

It had to be someone else.

“…How did you know?”

Hestia, who had removed her invisibility cloak and revealed herself, looked very embarrassed.

“You’re too big for that cloak.”

“But I hunched down properly when wearing it…!”

“The more your posture was cramped, the more weight was put into your steps. Your footprints deepened, and you couldn’t erase the traces, so I could identify your existence, position, and build just from your footprints.”

“Indeed… I can’t deceive your eyes, Professor. I apologize for sneaking in.”

“If you wanted to register for the class, you could have come directly. What were you aiming for by hiding?”

Hestia fidgeted, which didn’t suit her large build, before answering.

“I was worried about Oknodie. She’s already taking too many classes, and she said she would help with my training too, so I thought I might be able to help her during the lecture…”

Who was helping whom?

Professor Destroyer, Professor Bronze, and Hero Ishtar all looked at her with incredulous expressions.

Even Oknodie herself shook her head with a smile.

“I appreciate Hestia’s concern, but it was unnecessary! The assignments aren’t even that difficult.”

“Really?”

“To use an invisibility cloak properly, you should have gotten another one to increase the size.”

“But there was only one cloak in the hidden location recorded in the double-sided tape room?”

“You should have attacked another cloak owner and taken their cloak!”

“…”

Even Professor Bronze felt he had come for nothing—she clearly wasn’t a child who needed worrying about.